Babies dying 'due to NHS staffing crisis'

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A group of senior doctors called for the urgent appointment of thousands more midwives and consultants and a radical overhaul of the way maternity units are run to make them safer.

The hard-hitting report comes as it emerged that £665million compensation has been paid out by the Health Service over the past three years over births that went wrong.

The report recommends every mother having one-to-one care from a midwife during labour, whether at home or in a high-tech unit.

Consultants must have a greater "hands on" role, making ward rounds late at night every day of the year.

It calls for at least 5,000 more midwives and 900 more consultants - 50 per cent more than at present.

The new guidelines are being issued by four royal colleges of medicine, the Royal College of Anaesthetists, of Midwives, Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and Paediatrics and Child Health.

The recommendations could make it more difficult for smaller maternity units to survive.

Royal College of Gynaecologists president Professor Sabaratnam Arulkumaran said the Government's agenda of changes to hospital care - with super centres planned for A&E and some medical specialities such as heart treatment - would impact on maternity services.

He said leaving "isolated" maternity units without full back-up services would be a "disaster".

"If there is a consultant present they are better able to deal with emergencies and prevent disasters," he added.

Experts say there are increased pressures on NHS maternity units as a result of higher fertility levels, increasing levels of obesity among mothers and social trends such as delaying pregnancy until a later age.

Health Minister Ann Keen said: "The UK is one of the safest places in the world to have a baby. However, we are always striving to be better and safer."