Birthing unit reopening played down

12:10pm Tuesday 22nd July 2008

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By Charlie Crabtree »

A WORCESTERSHIRE health chief has played down suggestions that the birthing unit could reopen at Kidderminster Hospital.

The midwifery-led Wyre Forest Birthing Unit at Kidderminster Hospital was closed in 2003 following the unexpected deaths of six babies.

Now a new £3.5 million strategy by Worcestershire Primary Care Trust (PCT) has been announced to improve accessibility and choice of location in maternity services.

At the heart of the strategy is the introduction of a new midwife-led maternity unit at Worcestershire Royal Hospital for mothers from all over the county.

The proposals also suggest that the need for a similar unit in the north of the county could be considered in the future.

John Rostill, chief executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “After I ordered the closure of the Wyre Forest Birth Centre in 2003, I made it absolutely clear that under no circumstances would I allow it to reopen unless we could be sure that in doing so we were not exposing any woman, or her baby, to any avoidable risk.

“As the PCT stated last week, despite reports in some sections of the local media, there are currently no plans to reopen the Wyre Forest Birth Centre.

“The PCT’s recently published strategy makes it clear that they may, at some point in the future, consider opening a midwifery-led unit in the north of the county, following the development of a similar service at Worcestershire Royal, but they have not proposed a venue for that service.

“My personal view is that in the interests of mothers-to-be and their babies any midwife-led unit anywhere in Worcestershire should be right next to a consultant-led unit.

“This guarantees that if problems arise unexpectedly during a birth – as they sometimes can - all the resources of a modern maternity service and other hospital facilities are instantly accessible.

“I cannot imagine ever being prepared to support the reopening of a midwife-led unit at Kidderminster.”

Paul Bates, chief executive of Worcestershire PCT, explained: “We have received several enquiries asking whether we plan to reopen the Wyre Forest Birthing Centre and have confirmed that there are no such plans at present.”

Despite Mr Rostill’s comments, Labour’s Wyre Forest Westminster hopeful, Nigel Knowles, has launched a petition calling for the return of the birthing unit at Kidderminster Hospital.

He said: “I want to see more services returned to Kidderminster Hospital and the birth unit would be an excellent addition.

“The PCT could fulfil a long standing need for expectant mothers to have their babies at Kidderminster.”

The PCT’s new strategy also aims to increase the range of more specialist paediatric services available within Worcestershire.

It wants to avoid admission to hospital, where possible, and get babies and children home quickly after a stay in hospital.

The PCT has presented plans for 24-hour paediatric acute assessment services in Redditch and Worcester, a neonatal outreach team and expansion of the current hospital at home service for children.

Mr Bates said: “This strategy shows our commitment to putting care for mothers and children at the top of our agenda and our promise to sustain and improve services for the whole of Worcestershire.

“It will maintain access to services in north Worcestershire, increase choice of care during birth, improve local access to more specialised services, avoid hospital admissions and shorten hospital stays.”

Lynn Ratcliffe, chairman of the Maternity Services Forum, added: “The new midwife-led birthing unit in Worcester will be a major improvement for women and I hope we will be able to introduce a similar unit in the north of the county in the future.”

Elaine Newell, head of midwifery for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals, said: “This is excellent news for mums-to-be in Worcestershire.

“Implementation of this strategy will allow mothers greater choice and allows us to build on our existing achievements, ensuring an excellent standard of service for all mothers.”