Shortage of staff forces 40% of baby units to close

Staff shortages forced closures at a quarter of children’s wards and more than 40 per cent of baby units at Scottish hospitals, new research has found.

A total of 25 per cent of paediatric inpatient units and 41.7 per cent of neonatal units had to temporarily close to new admissions due to a shortage of medical staff, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) discovered.

The latest figures, for the year to October 2015, show Scotland’s level of children’s ward closures is lower than the UK rate of 31.3 per cent but the neonatal closures are marginally higher than the 41.1 per cent the UK experienced.

The RCPCH is calling for the Scottish Government to fund extra trainee doctors to address “gaps” in rotas and help prevent closures.

There are currently 310 paediatric consultants in Scotland and the college wants this to be increased by 84-110 posts if its workforce standards are to be met.

Entry level trainee positions have been full in the past three years but the college’s report found “significant gaps” in junior and mid-level paediatric trainee rotas.