NHS bosses say smaller maternity units may have to close

NHS bosses in England say the way maternity care is organised is “not fit for purpose” with safety at risk, and warn up to 20 smaller units may have to close.

The NHS Alliance, which represents health managers, says difficult decisions lie ahead and maternity services need to be consolidated to support safer care.

It said a government taskforce into neonatal and maternity care must tackle key issues such as a lack of specialist staff and a rise in C-sections.

The Department of Health and Social Care said every woman deserves safe maternity care, and the taskforce “will deliver the reforms needed to ensure services meet the needs of women and families now and in the future”.

The NHS Alliance said there are particular pressures on smaller units in rural and coastal areas and that those delivering 1,500 to 2,000 babies each year might need to close.

The organisation said up to 20 out of 155 consultant-led maternity units in England face closure. It says staffing problems and rising numbers of C-sections are making smaller units potentially unsafe.

The rise in C-sections was a challenge, according to the NHS Alliance, and there were inadequate operating theatres and beds in outdated and decaying buildings, posing a safety risk.

The NHS leaders’ organisation also said some smaller units struggled to maintain safe staffing numbers for 24-hour care, including midwives and consultants such as obstetricians.

It goes on to say the government’s taskforce must “grasp the nettle” by tackling these strategic issues, including significantly worse outcomes in deprived communities and raised maternity mortality rates for Black and Asian women.

The director of the NHS Alliance’s acute and ambulance network, Matthew Hopkins, said: “Difficult decisions lie ahead, consolidating maternity services to support safer, more sustainable care.”

He said any local plans had to involve NHS leaders, clinical staff, patients and communities, and that politicians “must have the courage to make the case for patient safety”.

“It is time now to take a step back and consider how we should best organise maternity services across England, and where those services should be located”, he said.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists called for “other solutions” to be explored that would prevent closing maternity units.

Dr Alison Wright, president of the college said the government should commit to “expanding the maternity workforce to ensure safe staffing levels, along with investment in training and retention of dedicated staff.”

“The distinct needs and challenges of smaller units, especially in rural and coastal communities, must be recognised and supported,” she added.