THE temporary closure of maternity services at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital is concerning.
It may be, as NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board has explained, that circumstances simply conspired to make it a difficult day for the hospital. The board said a high number of admissions combined with a number of women and babies developing complications resulted in a need to divert patients to other hospitals.
It is important not to criticise our NHS unnecessarily. It is a service to be proud of and we all want it to work as well as possible.
However, this is an embarrassing occurrence at Scotland’s flagship hospital. It is the first time such an event has happened in the seven-year history of the former Southern General unit now part of the new hospital. But it is hard to understand how it could have happened. While not entirely predictable, pregnancies are generally known about in advance and most births are planned for. But unexpected peaks in demand can still be difficult to predict.
The former Southern General’s maternity unit was refurbished at a cost of £28 million when Glasgow’s Queen Mother maternity unit was merged into it in 2010. While it includes a purpose-built labour suite with one dozen ensuite labour rooms and two state-of-the art operating theatres, it is possible to see how problems could arise if emergency Caesarians occupy the two theatres.
This may be of little comfort to women who have been booked in for elective Caesarian sections or induction only to learn that no bed has been reserved for them.
It is worth noting that staff had warned of problems in the making. The Royal College of Midwives has alerted managers to a rise in the number of births at the hospital and the need to ensure sufficient staffing levels. Trade union Unison has also raised questions about restrictions on the use of bank nurses, and was due to meet executives next week to discuss their impact.
It is important for the NHS to manage costs and no-one would want to see excessive use of bank or agency staff. But cutting the spending on such nurses should be achieved by ensuring adequate full-time staffing, not by inconveniencing patients.
Yesterday’s events saw patients in labour stuck in waiting areas and three women diverted to give birth in other hospitals. This will be an unwelcome occurrence for a board that, controversially, plans to downgrade maternity services in Alexandria and Greenock.
The closure was in the interests of patient safety, the board says. But at a time of stress and worry, most parents-to-be will want to be in familiar surroundings, perhaps those where they have attended ante-natal classes or where the doctors or nurses are known to them. Additional anxiety is not in any sense desirable.
It is to be hoped that yesterday’s events are a one off. But assuming pressure on the services continues to rise, ministers should perhaps look again at closure proposals. The NHS prides itself on being free at the point of delivery. Expectant mothers are entitled to think that there will be beds available at the point of delivery, too.
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