Midwife walked away from NHS in burnt out state
AFRUSTRATED midwife has revealed why she has left the NHS to offer women and babies the care she believes they deserve.
Last month, North Devon District Hospital (NDDH) was ordered to improve its maternity services due to women and babies being put at risk of harm.
Health watchdog Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated the service as ‘requires improvement’ as well as at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital (RD&E).
Both hospitals are run by the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Inspectors’ concerns at NDDH included insufficient staffing levels that were putting women and babies at risk.
It came as no surprise to 53-yearold Clair Medhurst, of Barnstaple, who worked at the hospital for six years until last October when she left in what she describes as a ‘burnt out’ state.
Clair recalled: “It was a really hard decision to make but I was burnt out and had anxiety. Initially, I didn’t think I would ever be able to be a midwife again, but I then realised there was life outside the NHS.
“I wanted to offer continuity of care but I couldn’t and I don’t think the hospitals merging to become one trust was probably a good thing.”
In October of last year, Clair established herself as North Devon’s first independent midwife (IM) to give women a different choice about how they access care and where they choose to give birth.
An IM is a fully qualified midwife who has chosen to work outside the NHS in a self-employed capacity.
The IM gives care to a woman and her family throughout a pregnancy and supports the family afterwards. For Clair, one of her biggest beliefs is women should all be entitled to personalised care and continuity of carer.
She said: “I just want to support and look after women to make the choices that are right for them, their body and their baby. When I looked into becoming an independent midwife it opened up my eyes.
“I did enjoy my time at Barnstaple and the midwives there are wonderful. They do their best as much as they can in the situation they are in, but it’s just not for me.”
Clair became a midwife more than 10 years ago. It was a job she had always dreamed of doing and decided to finally pursue it when her three children were teenagers.
In 2018 she joined NDDH as a community midwife. It had been two years since the publication of a major review of maternity services as part of the NHS Five Year Forward View.
The independent report recommended seven key priorities to improve care, including personalised care centred on the woman, her baby and her family informed by unbiased information, and also continuity of carer to become safer and more personalised.
Clair recalled: “The Better Births Report highlighted all the things I believed in, such as women knowing their midwives, and we tried to implement them but due to a lack of funding and being short-staffed, we didn’t have the foundations to make the huge transformation. It was never going to work.
“The frustrating thing was seeing it work in other areas but we couldn’t get there in Devon. I spent three years trying to implement change within the maternity service following the recommendations but this led me to burn out and I decided to leave.
“Maybe one day, when NDDH has the right staffing, it will roll out continuity of care.
“I would love to see that but at the moment they don’t.”
The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was approached for a comment.
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The frustrating thing was seeing it work in other areas but we couldn’t get there in Devon
Clair Medhurst
OBJECTIONS by angry residents living in a new housing estate to halt plans to remove a ‘buffer’ woodland boundary have resulted in the application being ‘called-in’ to be debated by council planning members.
Mass objections raised by angry residents living in a new housing estate in Bideford to halt plans by Persimmon Homes to remove a ‘buffer’ woodland boundary with protected trees to create a new footpath and cycleway have resulted in the application being ‘called-in’ to be debated by council planning members.
A planning application has been submitted to Torridge District Council (TDC) to fell trees separating Appledore Grove estate, located behind Aldi, from a new development of 200 homes which Persimmon Homes has been granted permission to build.
The latest application is listed as a redirection of Abbotsham Footpath to create a tarmac footpath and cycleway up to four metres wide.
So far more than 200 objections have been submitted with concerns including the visual impact on existing residents, noise, loss of privacy and the impact on wildlife, including owls which are said to be nesting in the trees and deer.
The deadline for consultation comments was initially due to end on April 17 but TDC has confirmed the matter will now be considered by its planning committee.
Persimmon Homes has apologised for the concerns the application has caused and has assured it is working with the council and community to see if an alternative route can be found without negatively impacting on the site’s biodiversity.
A council spokesperson said: “There is a statutory procedure for diverting a footpath as set out under Section S257 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the power to make a stopping up or diversion order is a discretionary power.
“The order cannot be made unless the local planning authority or secretary of state is satisfied the order is necessary to enable the development in question to proceed. The application has been called-in by ward members to require the matter to be considered at the council’s plans committee.”
Persimmon Homes was granted outline planning permission in July 2022 to build up to 200 homes on land at Clovelly Road. The development has been named Abbottsham Park. It then received reserved matters planning permission in February.
The developer has confirmed one in five properties will be transferred to a local housing association partner for social and affordable provision for local people.
A spokesperson for Persimmon
Cornwall and West Devon said: “We acknowledge the concerns raised during our ongoing consultation regarding the footpath diversion at the site. We are actively engaging with the local authority and are open to explore potential alternative routes that will not compromise the development and its biodiversity net gain provision. We apologise for the concern this has raised and we are committed to working with Torridge District Council and the local community to find a mutually beneficial solution.”
Caroline Cleave, who moved into Appledore Grove three-anda-half years ago, has welcomed the news but remains concerned that the proposals could still go ahead.
She said: “Persimmon Homes have not said they will not do it yet and still have an active application. Although I am really pleased they will look into other options, they have not said they’re not going to do it so I am still standing by my objections which are they should not put the footpath there as it goes against everything they have previously said.”
Fellow resident Wendy Baker listed a large number of objections reasons, including environmental, privacy and residential and visual amenity.
She said: “The proposed diversion lies beyond the boundary of the new development and traverses our designated ‘retained woodland buffer.’ There exists ample space within the confines of the new development to accommodate the footpath.
“It could be situated either along the roadway being constructed within the new estate, which largely aligns with the previous footpath, or along the periphery of the development. This arrangement would ensure that our treed boundary continues to serve as a visual barrier for the new residences and maintains a distinct demarcation for our estate. Contrary to its designation as a ‘path through the woodland,’ the proposed route is, in reality, a 4m wide tarmac path that entirely encroaches upon the boundary. The designated area was initially delineated as a ‘native edging and planting zone’ and a ‘retained woodland and buffer strip,’ with an assurance that it would perpetually endure, regardless of future developments.
“The area teems with wildlife, including nesting owls, thus serving as a vital habitat. The proposed path would be positioned a mere 12 feet from residences on the affected side of the estate, thereby compromising the privacy of residents and subjecting them to increased scrutiny.”
Also among the many residents opposing the application is Liza Abdool. She said: “When we purchased our houses we were sold by the tree outline, woodland by the top green, the meadow for dog walking and wildlife. However, it seems now they have sold all the houses on our estate our happiness and comfort will now be disregarded. I am furious.”
Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) has submitted an objection stating the application does not include an assessment of net gain, or loss, of biodiversity.