Health risks in maternity wards
The conditions of some maternity units could be putting the health of mothers and babies at risk, according to a report by a government watchdog.
The Healthcare Commission report came out of the investigation of three units with worryingly high mortality rates.
The report focuses on problems such as a shortage of midwives, overcrowding, and poor organisation. Chairman of the watchdog Sir Ian Kennedy said there was growing evidence that some maternity services were “not as good or as safe as they could be”.
Health Minister Liam Byrne said services were “not yet good enough to meet the needs of all women” but the government was launching an action plan this week to ensure “world class maternity services”.
The investigations took place over just two years at Northwick Park Hospital in London, New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton and Ashford St Peters Hospital in Chertsey.
The maternity unit at Northwick Park Hospital was put under the control of outside experts in April, following the commission’s recommendations.
The report says the root cause of the problem is poor managerial and clinical leadership.
Sir Ian said NHS trusts should review their maternity services in the light of the report and the fact there were huge discrepancies between the best and the worst services in the country.
“I find it surprising that a service like the NHS, with so many dedicated people working in it, can have pockets of really poor practice, where we have not learned from the wisdom and knowledge and experience that has been put around for a long time,” he said.
Sir Ian said very few mothers and babies died but “the numbers could be smaller if we threw the spotlight on maternity more often, and not just in the aftermath of a serious problem”.
Mr Byrne welcomed the reports’ findings that giving birth is now safer than ever.
“However services are not yet good enough to meet the needs of all women and babies, wherever they live and whoever they are, and that is why the government continues in reforming as well as investing in maternity services in the UK,” he said.
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said the report was “deeply worrying”. Mr Lansley said a “lack of genuine reform” meant that money going into the NHS was being wasted.
“It will not be good enough for the government to make promises about changes years hence if we have too few midwives and poor standards today,” he added.
There are around 650,000 births in the UK each year; more than 90 per cent take place in NHS hospitals. Around one in every 8,800 pregnancies results in the woman dying during pregnancy or within 42 days after giving birth.
