NHS boss summoned to crunch meeting as North Devon confirms maternity suspension
Sam Higginson has been called to a meeting by a committee that oversees changes in health policies
The boss of the NHS trust at the centre of the maternity crisis in North Devon has been called to a crunch scrutiny meeting amid the confirmation that services will be suspended.
Sam Higginson, who runs the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which encompasses North Devon and the Exeter area, has been called to a meeting by a committee that oversees changes in health policies.
An emergency session of the health and adult care scrutiny committee has been called at Devon County Council to try and unpick how North Devon’s maternity services have found themselves at risk of temporary closure.
That could mean journeys of around 90 minutes to either Exeter’s Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital or Taunton Hospital.
The trust has now confirmed it will be temporarily suspending births at North Devon District Hospital from Tuesday 11 August due to “unsafe levels of medical staffing”.
However, it stressed that while births and face-to-face triage would not be available during the suspension, other services such as community midwifery, scans, birth planning, ultrasound clinics and antenatal outpatient clinics will remain.
It said “every available option has been explored” without success to enable birthing services to continue, meaning it could not secure additional locum cover or mutual aid support from partner organisations. That meant a temporary suspension was “the only safe course of action”.
The last planned inductions and c-sections will take place today (Friday 7 August), with the last time that it can accept spontaneous births being Sunday 9 August.
Carolyn Mills, Royal Devon chief nursing officer, said it had been an “exceptionally difficult decision to make”.
“Unfortunately, we have now reached the point where we cannot safely provide the level of medical cover required to continue births at North Devon District Hospital,” she said.
“We carefully considered the risks involved. While we recognise the additional travel this will mean for some families, we believe that concentrating services where safe medical staffing can be guaranteed is the safest option for everyone who relies on our maternity services.”
Councillor Jess Bailey (Independent, Otter Valley), who chairs the health and adult care scrutiny committee at Devon County Council, said it was a matter of “massive public concern”.
While her committee can scrutinise what is happening and potentially assist with possible resolutions, it does not have any direct control over the NHS.
“The absolutely key thing is to understand how that maternity service can be up and running again because we can’t let it not reopen.”
Cllr Bailey said there was widespread concern about the forthcoming suspension of maternity services in North Devon, notably for “women who may have to travel a really long distance to give birth”.
“The number one priority of our committee is to speak to Mr Higginson to make sure there is a really clear strategy for reopening the service,” she added.
Mr Higginson said women requiring birth services would be “supported to access alternative maternity units” while his trust works to restore services.
“Our work will focus on recruitment, training and service model redesign to ensure that the reinstated service is resilient and sustainable, and we welcome the involvement of our stakeholders in providing scrutiny and oversight as we do this,” he said.
“Across all the conversations we are having with women and their families, our staff, our NHS colleagues, MPs, councillors, Devon Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership and other groups, we are hearing loud and clear the issues that matter most to everyone and we are working to doing what we can to reduce the disruption and disadvantage caused by this decision.
“We are also grateful for the immense show of support from our community in sharing our consultant job adverts and promoting North Devon as a fantastic place to work and live.”
Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat), the MP for North Devon, posted on his Facebook page that 13,000 people had signed a petition in under a week to try and prevent the suspension of maternity services in the Barnstaple hospital.
“I’ve now written to over 50 organisations in the women’s health field begging them to exhaust their contacts to help us find an extra consultant to come to North Devon,” he said.
“I’ve also just come off a call with our local NHS trust executives and commissioners as well as consultant representatives from the British Medical Association.
“And I’ve put some important anonymous questions from NHS staff and worried families to the trust and asked them what they’re doing about recruitment and how we ended up in this situation.”
Fellow MP Sir Geoffrey Cox (Conservative, Torridge and Tavistock) has also expressed that he is “extremely concerned at the short-notice announcement that births at North Devon District Hospital will be temporarily suspended from 11 August”.
“This decision will understandably cause significant anxiety and uncertainty for many expectant parents and families throughout Torridge,” he said.
“I sincerely hope that in the days ahead, the trust can reverse this decision by finding solutions to the shortage of senior (consultant) medical staff that has led to this temporary suspension.”
The trust said it had contacted more than 300 women and birthing people who are 34 weeks pregnant or more, as well as those identified as vulnerable or clinically high risk, to discuss their individual circumstances, care plans, and the travel and transport support available.
YOUR NEED TO KNOW:
When are birthing services temporarily stopping at North Devon District Hospital?
The last planned inductions and c-sections are due on Friday 7 August, with the final day that spontaneous births can be dealt with being Sunday 9 August.
Are all maternity-related services stopping?
No. The suspension will affect births and face-to-face triage but other services such as community midwifery, scans, birth planning, ultrasound clinics and antenatal outpatient clinics will remain in North Devon.
What do I do if I’m pregnant and live in North Devon?
A dedicated helpline for pregnant women and birthing people is available on 01271 335773 between 9am-5pm Monday – Friday. A maternity triage line is available 24/7 for those who require urgent medical advice on 01392 406616.
Is there any information available online?
Yes. Regular updates, support information and frequently asked questions are available on the Royal Devon’s North Devon birth services temporary changes website.