NUMBER CRUNCH

Four out of 10 NHS services had to shut their doors due to lack of beds or staff at some point in 2016. The number of pregnant women turned away from overrun maternity units has increased by 70% in two years. The maternity unit at a major urban teaching hospital was forced to close to newcomers for more than 30 hours. At another hospital, the maternity ward was shut 30 times in a single year due to insufficient midwives.