08.08.17
Nearly half of maternity wards forced to close at least once last year
Nearly half the maternity units in England were forced to close at some point in 2016, research published today by Labour has revealed.
The data was obtained by the party through Freedom of Information (FoI) request, which asked trusts whether they had temporarily closed maternity wards to new admissions at some point last year.
The findings revealed that 42 hospital trusts said they were forced to shut their doors at some point last year – amounting to around 44% of the providers who responded to the request.
Ten of these trusts stated that they had shut down on more than 10 separate occasions, with some taking more than 24 hours to reopen.
Overall, there were 382 occasions when units had to close their doors in 2016, a whopping 70% increase compared to 2014.
“These findings show the devastating impact which Tory underfunding is having for mothers and children across the country,” argued shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth. “It is staggering that almost half of maternity units in England had to close to new mothers at some point in 2016. The uncertainty for so many women just when they need the NHS most is unthinkable.
“Under this government, maternity units are understaffed and under pressure. It’s shameful that pregnant women are being turned away due to staff shortages, and shortages of beds and cots in maternity units.”
But a spokesperson for the Department of Health claimed that there were enough midwives in the NHS, with more than 2,000 additional dedicated staff compared with May 2010 and 6,500 currently in training.
“Patients should be reassured we continue to have enough midwives in the NHS,” they commented. “Temporary closures in NHS maternity units are well rehearsed safety measures which we expect trusts to use to safely manage peaks in admissions.
“To use these figures as an indication of safe staffing issues, particularly when a number of them could have been for a matter of hours, is misleading because maternity services are unable to plan the exact time and place of birth for all women in their care.”
The Royal Society of Midwives (RCM), however, said that the figures came as no surprise, and highlighted what it argued was a critical understaffing of the UK’s maternity units.
“Some of these temporary closures highlighted in Labour’s report reflect the significant pressures on maternity services across England, which remain 3,500 full time midwives short of the minimum number needed,” said Sean O’Sullivan, head of health and social policy at the RCM.
“Trusts are also facing huge pressures to save money demanded by the government, but this cannot be at the expense of safety. Midwife managers work incredibly hard to keep services safe and to provide high quality care, but they cannot do this without the correct levels of funding and resources to employ enough midwives.”
O’Sullivan also noted that the RCM does support decisions to close maternity units when failing to do this would compromise the safety of mothers and babies in their care. But he argued that if units are regularly and persistently having to close their doors, this might suggest there is an underlying problem around capacity and staffing levels that needs immediate attention.
“When units close their doors, women diverted to another unit may be upset and disappointed because they are not giving birth in the unit of their choice,” he concluded. “It is also very worrying for women who may be in labour and may be distressed to have to travel to another unit, possibly some miles away.”
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