The midwives' union has claimed maternity services in Bradford are in crisis, after talks with hospital bosses over staffing shortages broke down.

The Royal College of Midwives, Unison and the Royal College of Nursing said in a joint statement that the Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust had rejected a grievance claim that there were not enough midwives for the district.

The two-and-a-half-year dispute has ended in stalemate after the combined unions did not get the result they wanted over a £150,000 expenditure programme.

The unions wanted the money to be spent on more midwives, but said the Trust has proposed spending it on maternity care assistants or support workers.

The RCM's regional officer for Yorkshire and Humberside Gill Adgie said: "It would be an understatement to say that we are disappointed.

"The Trust has taken a long time to resolve this grievance and has failed to understand the key issue. We are deeply disappointed, but are not giving up.

"While the Trust has demonstrated a small commitment to maternity services by finding an extra £150,000, it has been a slap in the face to women, their families and hard-pressed midwives to not use this money to hire more midwives.

"Although the additional funding may free up' some midwife hours, it will by no means address the chronic under staffing."

Unison regional officer Steve Hoyland said: "This grievance was initiated by the midwives themselves and has continued for over two years because they feel so strongly about this issue.

"We have a large amount of evidence that services are being affected from cancelled clinics to cancelled visits, with mothers and babies not getting the service they have a right to expect."

Last year the Government launched its Maternity Matters programme, a national blueprint for maternity services which is meant to be implemented by 2009.

Unions said it believed the Trust had no funding to implement this plan, and had asked the Bradford and Airedale Primary Care Trust, which provides health services across the district, for more money.

No-one at Bradford Teaching Hospitals Trust was available for comment last night.

Bradford and Airedale Primary Care Trust would only say: "We are working constructively with Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to implement the recommendations of Maternity Matters by 2009."