At his first Prime Minister’s Questions, Andy Burnham committed to reopening the maternity unit at North Devon District Hospital. The new PM called the current situation, where women have to travel up to two hours to give birth after the unit closed three weeks ago, “unacceptable”.
He was questioned by Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats. Davey said: “When my kids were born I cannot imagine the extra stress and anxiety that would have caused us. Women are even being taught how to give birth in their cars. This should be unthinkable in our country.”
“So will the prime minister commit to reopening North Devon ’s maternity unit in days not weeks and we stop maternity units closing across the country so expectant mums never have to face such terrifying distances,” he said.
Burnham replied: “Let me give a direct answer, I will commit to reopening, but not within days, I don't think I am in a position to make that commitment today.
"I am in agreement with him, that it is not acceptable for people living in the North Devon area to have to travel that far.
“Let me take that away and let me also say to him, with honesty, there are structural issues here affecting maternity services across the UK. This is not the only hospital where there have been difficulties, I am aware from my former time as secretary of state for health that there have been long standing shortages of midwives across the country and I believe it is right that we look at all those issues.
“I can give him my guarantee that my right honourable friend, the health secretary, is looking at those issues following the recent maternity reviews we have had.”
The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust closed the Ladywell Unit at NDDH on August 11 due to a shortage of consultant obstetricians and registrars, saying it was unsafe to allow births there.
On Tuesday the trust gave a provisional reopening date of September 29, subject to having the necessary skill mix, final checks on staffing rotas and meeting essential safety criteria. It said it had made “positive progress” in recruiting the medical staff needed to safely reopen.
Dr Vanessa Purday, the trust’s chief medical officer, said: “We fully recognise the disruption and anxiety caused by the temporary suspension and we are grateful to women and birthing people, their families, colleagues and partners for their patience and support.
“This is an important step forward towards restoring services closer to home and being assured of patient safety and continuity of care. We hope this provides certainty for our colleagues who work in those services, for women, birthing people and their families and the communities that rely on these services.”
The closure was met with public outrage and raised concerns about the hospital’s fragility and the “centralisation” of services to Exeter. Women booked to give birth at the Barnstaple hospital were told to attend other units in Exeter or Taunton, and feared they would give birth on the North Devon Link Road.
The trust said last week that more than 50 babies had been born with no arrivals during the journey. Private classes were offered on how to give birth in a car, not by the trust but by independent companies.
Devon County Council has written to the health secretary expressing concern over the suspension. It has asked for an impact assessment, a lessons learned review and a fragile services report from the trust after grilling health bosses for hours at a recent health scrutiny meeting.
North Devon councillor Pru Maskell (Con, Braunton West and George
Andy Burnham Commits to Reopen North Devon Maternity Unit