 News
25th January 2008
Watchdog responds
to concerns over maternity servicesMothers and babies are being
treated poorly in overstretched Health Service maternity units, a study has found.
Almost one in four hospitals is letting down pregnant women by not scanning
foetuses properly to check for birth defects and more than a third of trusts are
still not meeting a Government pledge that all mothers should have one-to-one
care from a named midwife. The first nationwide survey of maternity services
by the Healthcare Commission, the Government's health standards watchdog, says
there is a clear link between the shortage of midwives and poor standards - despite
ministers' assurances that this is not the case. A league table of England's
148 trusts, published with the report today, rated 21 per cent of maternity units
as poor. The situation is worst in London, where no less than 70 per cent
of trusts have poor maternity provision. Dame Karlene Davis, general secretary
of the Royal College of Midwives, said: 'The report shows that everything is far
from rosy in the garden, and it should be a wake-up call that jolts the Government
from its slumbers. 'They need to rub the sleep from their eyes and reverse
the lack of action. They are sleeping while mothers and babies are not getting
the high-quality care they deserve, while maternity services are crumbling and
midwives are working themselves into the ground. We are selling women short.'
Anna Walker, chief executive of the Healthcare Commission, said: 'There
have been serious concerns about maternity services.' She claimed that
those trusts rated poor were not unsafe - if they were the commission 'would not
hesitate' to take action to ensure patient safety was protected. The report
found that many hospitals were not scanning unborn babies properly for birth defects.
Thirty-nine per cent of trusts do not carry out the full 11 checks to be performed
during ultrasound scans, laid down by the National Institute for Health and Clinical
Excellence. These include studying the baby's heart function, length of spine,
counting bones in the arms and legs and looking at head shape and size. The
scans should also examine the development of the baby's face and lips. Only
11 per cent are meeting NICE requirements on screening for Down's syndrome. The
commission said the remaining 89 per cent were receiving inferior screening. The
report raises concerns about staffing levels in English maternity units. The Royal
College of Midwives say there is a national shortage of 5,000 midwives. Its guidelines
say there should be 36 midwives per 1,000 deliveries. But at the average trust
there are only 31 midwives and at some trusts the number is as low as 26. Two-thirds
of trusts with low midwife levels have poor services. The report says this suggests
very low staffing levels may be associated with poor overall performance. The
commission said the shortage of midwives means that 36 per cent of units are not
providing one-to-one care for all women, despite that being a Government pledge.
The report says there are too few consultants on maternity units. The Royal
College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says there should be consultant cover
for 40 hours a week - but a third of trusts do not meet this minimum. Campaigners
say an extra 900 consultants are needed to ensure safe levels of care. Responding
to the report, Health Secretary Alan Johnson announced an extra £122million of
funding by 2011 for maternity services. The money will be spent on more flexible
opening hours for maternity centres, better training for midwives and increased
access to home births. He said: 'The NHS has much more work to do to ensure
women receive the most modern maternity care. Alongside the extra funding, we
have this year made improving maternity services a national priority for the NHS.'
LibDem health spokesman Norman Lamb said: 'This report makes for disturbing
reading. It is simply unacceptable that one in five maternity units is putting
mothers and babies at risk because staff are stretched to breaking point. 'Close
attention from midwives and doctors is not a luxury. It is vital to ensure that
all the appropriate scans are done and any problems are identified before they
become life-threatening.' Where to next? | 
