Plea to keep Modbury Hospital's paediatric ward open Heidi Mitchell and her daughter Hannah would be affected by the proposed closure of the paediatric ward at the Modbury Hospital. A MODBURY mum who has had to take her six-year-old daughter Hannah to Modbury Hospital's paediatric ward is concerned about a proposal to close it. Under the plan, more than 1000 children would no longer be treated at the Smart Rd hospital, but transferred to the Lyell McEwin Hospital for overnight stays. Heidi Mitchell, who last took Hannah to the ward 12 months ago following a series of fainting episodes, feared making a sick child travel to receive overnight care would be detrimental to the child and their families. "The distance from my house to another hospital is my main concern," Ms Mitchell said. It'll be a real shame to see the children's ward go and it would probably take close to 45 minutes depending on traffic to get to the Lyell McEwin, which is certainly a lot longer to travel especially if you have a really sick child. Under the proposal, emergency services would remain at Modbury Hospital for both children and adults. Northern Adelaide Local Health Network CEO Margot Mains will hold two forums next week to allow people to find out more information about the proposal and have their say on it. Ms Mains said detailed consultation with staff and patients would take place before a final decision was made. "In-patient pediatrics at Lyell McEwin and Modbury hospitals has been under-utilised and Modbury has not managed complex cases for some years now," Ms Mains said. Opposition Health spokesman Rob Lucas said plans to close the ward occurred just months after the government had committed to the ward. "As recently as late last year the government indicated there would be ongoing paediatric service at Modbury," he said. Health Minister Jack Snelling said Mr Lucas's claims of a broken promise were wrong: "The ED redevelopment we spoke about in February is not affected by this consultation."