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Overcrowded maternity units forced to turn mothers away
Anna Davis09.02.09
Pregnant women are regularly being turned away from overcrowded London maternity wards, it emerged today.
Figures reveal how hundreds of women face a traumatic birth in “cattle truck” conditions or struggle in under-staffed wards.
One hospital trust that is planning to axe beds was forced to shut its doors at least 91 times last year. Barnet and Chase Farm is losing one of its doctor-led maternity sites under a controversial overhaul of the NHS, yet is already struggling to cope.
Medical staff in Barking, Havering and Redbridge also had to divert women between hospitals in east London because of bed shortages. The Chelsea and Westminster Trust was forced to close to new admissions at least five times last year. On one occasion wards were effectively shut for 48 hours as staff struggled with the workload.
Hillingdon Hospital's maternity unit was also closed once. The data raises new fears about the standard of maternity care in the wake of a damning Healthcare Commission report.
A spokeswoman for the National Childbirth Trust said: “It is absolutely terrifying for women to arrive at a maternity ward to find the doors are closed. Hospitals need to plan far more carefully because the birth rate in London is going up.”
The closures in north London, including 63 at Barnet Hospital and 28 at Chase Farm in Enfield, come as bosses plan to axe specialist maternity care at one of the sites. Under a controversial review, doctor-led maternity services will be removed from the Enfield site and split between Barnet Hospital and the North Middlesex in Edmonton.
Geoff Martin of London Health Emergency said: “It would be grossly irresponsible to press on with plans for Chase Farm when the fact is that services are already severely overstretched.If the services are axed in Enfield it will create chaos across whole swathes of north London.”
Averil Dongworth, chief executive of Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust, defended the move. She said: “We are always open to emergency admissions and at no point in the past year has the entire service at either hospital been closed.
“The proposals will move inpatient maternity care from three to two sites. No changes will take place before additional capacity has been provided at Barnet Hospital, North Middlesex University Hospital and elsewhere.” Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley, who obtained the information, said: “These figures are a telling reminder of Labour's terrible record. Every one of these figures tells an awful story of mothers being turned away from hospital at a hugely emotional time — when they are due to give birth.”
The figures show there were 553 closures in England, or an average of five per trust, compared with four in 2007 when there were 402 closures. This represents a 38 per cent rise.
A Department of Health spokesman said: “Sometimes units do have to temporarily shut their doors, usually for very short periods. We appreciate that it is distressing to be told that your care is going to be provided elsewhere but this is always undertaken in the interests of safety for the mother and baby.”
Reader views (10)
Paul London
Well done!
Of course no-one is suggesting we "throw pregnant women out into the snow", or any other surface, but you missed the point - encourage less pregnancy in the first place by not oversubsidising overproduction.
The running of the health service is such an important but difficult issue, it`s good to get healthy debate on the core of the matter, as opposed to negative unrealistic dogma.
It clearly needs fresh ideas based on scientific evaluation and management and not just political scaremongering.
- Darius Midwinter, London UK
Yes, Darius, I do pay tax (and a lot of it). So what do we do, cast pregnant women into the snow to fend for themselves? Here's a constructive idea - sack all the middle managers, bean counters and people who watch the bean counters counting the beans, plus anyone with 'outreach' in the job title. Appoint a good, old fashioned matron on each ward. Then we can pay nurses a proper wage. I note that Jane was one of four British mothers in the whole maternity unit ... I bet there were even fewer British nurses - don't go propogating the idea that foreign = idle and out of work, because that is "crass generalisation"
- Paul, London
Barnet and Chase Farm hospitals are 10-15 mins drive away from each other. They have problems recruiting people. It does make sense
- S Lawrence, St Albans Herts
Paul , London -
Clearly women ARE being turned away, - I don`t know if you pay tax, but there must be a limit to spending and it must be allocated appropriately - we must not shy away from discussion, as opposed to crass generalisation.
The point is if you have to finance it yourself, it would concentrate your mind wonderfully on whether you (as opposed to the taxpayer) can afford more than one child.
Now, have you any constructive ideas?
- Darius Midwinter, London UK
Darius, you are 25 years late for 1984! No pregnant mother should ever be turned away from a hospital (who are you - Herod?) More simply, this shows once again that Blair/Brown just throwing money at the NHS with no proper audit is money down the drain.
- Paul, London
Gary is right. When I had my daughter 4 years ago I was one of four British mothers in the entire maternity unit. The others had turned up on the doorstep in labour having never previously seen a UK midwife. No only were they taking up beds and doctors they were provided with interpreters at vast expense.
- Jane Bewick, London
Mass uncontrolled immigration = mass uncontrolled babies to stay in this country. Quite easy to work out really.
- Grim Reaper, Hell
Divide the NHS into two -
A National Sickness Service, and
A National Childbirth service.
Sickness service free at the point of use for all who fall ill, private health for sports injuries, tattoo removal, and other lifestyle choice injuries
Childbirth service, first child "free", further children private only.
Increase taxes on alcohol, cigarettes and fatty or unhealthy consumables; feed this straight into the system to treat debilitating disease.
Compulsory stomach clamping for the inconvincible obese.
Stop all free treatment for non-UK residents.
Encourage the ethos of vocation, rather than career.
Stop all and sundry traipsing in and out of wards, ensure clean footwear so as to reduce infection.
Get tough on Consultants - weekend operating rotas to clear backlog of operable conditions like hip replacements, etc.
Incorporate doctor’s surgeries and dental practice in the hospital.
Incorporate a police station next to the casualty department.
Bring back tough no-nonsense Matrons, ladies with life experience.
- Darius Midwinter, London UK
I coulnt agree more with garys comment.
- Christopher, london
just a thought....check the eligibility for maternity care by valid National Insurance number. This might be a prudent way to stop health tourism in London, by foreign nationals with no entitlement to NHS treatment. A huge proporation of births are to Non-UK residents, but political correctness is stopping any questioning of people who present at Maternity units in advanced stages of pregnacy - try doing this in the USA and see how far you get!
- Gary, amersham
