‘Knowing they were close was important’
FAMILIES SPEAK OF SADNESS AS BABY UNIT SET TO SHUT
Reporter MUMS and dads have told of their shock at the temporary closure of a Tyneside maternity unit at the centre of a staffing crisis.
On Sunday, hospital bosses in South Shields announced it was no longer safe for any deliveries to go ahead at the town’s hospital, after the special care baby unit was forced to close due to staffing problems.
The closure meant 165 pregnant women were forced to change their plans for births due in the next few weeks.
Dad Mark Magrs says he was ‘shocked’ when he heard that SCBU was closing.
Mark, 44, who lives in South Shields, says he owes his son Toby’s life to the staff at the unit.
Toby is now a happy and healthy nine-year-old – but Mark says he doesn’t know what would have happened if his wife Ann, 40, needed to travel further away when Toby had to be unexpectedly delivered.
Mark said: “Nearly ten years ago my wife had an incredibly complicated pregnancy. She’s physically disabled and was in and out of South Tyneside Hospital throughout.
“We don’t have our own transport so if we hadn’t had local maternity services things would have been much more complicated at a very worrying time. Our son was delivered a month early as he was judged to be in distress and was not seen to be breathing for the first minute after he was born. He had to be rushed to the special care baby unit – that’s one of those moments when every single second counts.
“I dread to think what might have happened if they’d had to transfer him to a different hospital. My wife and son had to stay at South Tyneside Hospital for about two weeks after he was born – the staff at SCBU are absolutely incredible, and allowed us to spend as much time together as a family as possible.
“Obviously I wanted them home, but knowing that they were close enough for me to visit whenever I wanted to was massively important.”
The South Tyneside maternity unit was also a special place for Rebecca Baghdasarian, 26, who gave birth to her first son Theo there in 2015. She said staff were ‘fantastic,’ and giving birth in their pool she felt ‘calm and reassured’ as she delivered Theo safe and healthy.
Tragically, her return to the hospital was under less happy circumstances – she lost her second child, but says the staff at South Tyneside supported her throughout the heartbreaking process.
Learning of the temporary closure – as well as the long-term threat to t the SCBU – has left her unsure what to do as she begins to face the idea of trying for another child.
Rebecca, who also lives in South Shields, said: “The antenatal care team were fantastic and showed empathy so I hope this service can stay. When we decide we are ready to try again I am totally unsure as to where I would go to deliver my baby.
“I wouldn’t be looking forward to travelling to the QE [in Gateshead] or RVI [in Newcastle] or Sunderland whilst having contractions and imagine if it was rush-hour. I therefore think I would consider a home birth.”
Bosses at South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust and the nearby hospital trusts said deliveries will take place at Sunderland Royal Hospital and nearby maternity units.