Midwives shortage prompts fears for safety at hospitals
LACK OF SENIOR STAFF IS ‘A RISK TO THE ORGANISATION’
SIGNIFICANT risks are being faced at Burton and Derby’s main hospitals due to a lack of senior midwives – and they are set for more retirements and vacancies.
Concerns have been raised that there are too few workers to maintain safe levels of care for expectant mums and their babies.
The maternity departments at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust has been experiencing serious issues for months.
At a board meeting on May 10, Ian Gell, a non-executive director at the trust, said: “The fragility of the senior staff in the maternity department, where I think there are several retirements, is a risk to the organisation.
“We have looked at recruitment but there is a risk. Maternity staffing remains a major challenge.
“The quality and performance committee accepts and welcomes the focus that is being given to this issue and by the evident efforts of all staff to keep the service as safe as possible, but, despite all efforts, staffing remains extremely challenging. Despite recruitment to midwife numbers, the number of staff available to work had not increased as a result of retirement, sickness and Covid isolation.
“The senior team was especially fragile largely due to retirement and the involvement of senior managers in direct patient care.”
The board’s report shed further light on the issue.
It says there are currently 32 full-time equivalent vacancies at the trust’s maternity departments – out of around 350 staff. There is also a large number of staff unavailable to work, with 23 full-time equivalent midwives on maternity leave, and some who are isolating due to Covid.
Ward managers are said to be back to clinical work on the frontline in a bid to cover gaps in staffing.
The trust says: “Recent concerns have continued to be around midwifery staffing and working at below safe staffing levels at Royal Derby Hospital. Staff meetings with frontline staff continue to be held to support the clinical teams and to listen to their concerns”.
The organisation says it has looked to international recruitment to further plug gaps in the maternity departments, with 11 midwives set to be funded, who have been offered jobs.
There are rolling adverts for new midwives and there are currently around 40 applicants to shortlist and interview. The trust says the majority are student midwives due to qualify in September, leaving the organisation with significant gaps.
Money has been provided nationally to retain midwives – specifically senior staff – with funding approved for two supernumerary senior midwives to support midwives in practice. In March, the trust said significant midwifery workforce pressures were causing risks around understaffed maternity wards. This had led to staff being unable to take breaks.
It had said: “On occasion, this results in fewer midwives being allocated to the labour ward than should be the case which adds to risk”. Staff are exhausted, said trust officials.
Trust officials had said its suspended homebirth service could be back up and running towards the end of April or in early May. However, last week, the trust made the “difficult” decision to continue the suspension to “ensure safe staffing levels across all our maternity services”.
The trust said: “Our homebirth service is an important service and this decision is regularly reviewed. We appreciate this will be disappointing to those who were planning on giving birth at home and we would ask them to continue to discuss their birth options with their community midwives.”
The number of staff available to work has not increased as a result of retirement, sickness and Covid isolation. Report