The ongoing closure of the maternity unit at North Devon District Hospital (NDDH) in Barnstaple is "becoming a nightmare" for an expectant couple. Birthing services have been shut since 11 August because of staffing issues, leaving pregnant women facing a 53-mile (85km) trip to Exeter to give birth from the Barnstaple area alone.
The hospital had provisionally planned to reopen on 29 September, but bosses have since said the service was not in a position to do so. Sean and his partner Amy, who is 36 weeks pregnant, live in Hartland with their three-year-old son. Sean said they went through a birth plan at NDDH last week expecting services to resume, but now they are worried about what happens next.
Sean said: "It's very stressful. I mean, when we heard the news… we both kind of just sat there in silence and was a bit like: 'What next?'" He added: "Amy's had a few complications with cysts on her ovary this pregnancy, and we've had to make a trip to Plymouth and Exeter… It's just becoming a nightmare."
Sean said it took them two hours to drive to both Exeter and Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, and 45 minutes to NDDH. He also said they only had 45 minutes to spare after getting to the hospital following the birth of their first child. "I don't think we're going to make it, if I'm honest," he said.
The couple are now considering alternative birthing plans. Sean said: "One of our options, which Amy really doesn't want to have to go through, is seriously considering just booking a C-section." He added: "It's got to the point where she's like: 'Am I going to make it? Is it worth the stress? Am I better off having a C-section and then dealing with the recovery afterwards?'"
Speaking about the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Sean said feeling "angry is a bit of an understatement". He said: "I just can't see them being able to bring the staff in or even contemplate reopening in a month's time."
Dr Vanessa Purday, chief medical officer at the Royal Devon trust, said bosses would continue to review reopening the service, which covers north Devon and part of north-east Cornwall, every two weeks and were committed to reopening it. She said: "We know that it takes two weeks from the decision when we know we're ready and that's about moving staff, moving equipment, rewriting rotas." She added: "I just want to reassure people that it remains our absolute priority, we recognise the worry and the concern it causes but I want to emphasise that we need to make sure that when we reopen we reopen safely and in a way that we can stay open so that you have confidence in that."
Expectant Parents Call Devon Maternity Unit Closure a Nightmare