Cot crisis in birthing cutbacks
Dozens of women due to give birth to seriously premature babies are being sent hundreds of miles around Britain each week because of an NHS crisis over intensive care cots.
The problem has seen women from Hemel Hempstead sent to Great Yarmouth and Nottingham, and a woman from London sent to Brighton. Another was flown from Plymouth to Manchester by the RAF. It follows a £70m government initiative to provide better care for premature babies which experts say has failed.
Under the scheme, the number of centres caring for fragile babies has been reduced. The aim was to centralise the best experts and equipment, but critics say its main effect has been to cut the number of beds.
Research by Bliss, the premature baby charity, found that in the West Midlands and London more than 30 mothers a month were being sent around the country in a search for cots.
Rob Williams, chief executive of Bliss, said more than 100 women nationwide faced the same problem every week.
“Neonatal mortality rates are increasing and the number of babies that need care is on the increase,” he said. “We are among the worst countries in Europe for infant mortality.”
The problem has been highlighted by the cases of two 18-year-old girls from Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire. They were forced to have their premature babies in hospitals in Nottingham and Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, because of a shortage of intensive care cots at Watford General, their local hospital.
In another case, Joanne Taylor, 34, from London, had to be rushed by ambulance to Brighton. Her daughter was born on Christmas Day and spent 68 days in an intensive care neonatal cot.
After 12 days, however, Taylor was told her own bed in the neonatal unit was needed and she had to move to a hostel. “The treatment was fantastic but the system is crazy,” she said.
Her 60-mile journey was minor compared with Tracey Harrison’s expedition. She was 28 weeks pregnant with triplets when complications developed. There were no cots available locally so Derriford hospital in Plymouth arranged for the RAF to fly her to St Mary’s in Manchester in a helicopter. After 10 days she was brought back to Plymouth and gave birth on January 4. “I was very distressed. The system is rubbish,” said Harrison.
The Department of Health said: “In 2003 we announced an extra £70m over three years. It takes time to train neonatal intensive care nurses and develop clinical networks. That is why this funding will take time to take effect.”
The problem has seen women from Hemel Hempstead sent to Great Yarmouth and Nottingham, and a woman from London sent to Brighton. Another was flown from Plymouth to Manchester by the RAF. It follows a £70m government initiative to provide better care for premature babies which experts say has failed.
Under the scheme, the number of centres caring for fragile babies has been reduced. The aim was to centralise the best experts and equipment, but critics say its main effect has been to cut the number of beds.
Research by Bliss, the premature baby charity, found that in the West Midlands and London more than 30 mothers a month were being sent around the country in a search for cots.
Rob Williams, chief executive of Bliss, said more than 100 women nationwide faced the same problem every week.
“Neonatal mortality rates are increasing and the number of babies that need care is on the increase,” he said. “We are among the worst countries in Europe for infant mortality.”
The problem has been highlighted by the cases of two 18-year-old girls from Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire. They were forced to have their premature babies in hospitals in Nottingham and Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, because of a shortage of intensive care cots at Watford General, their local hospital.
In another case, Joanne Taylor, 34, from London, had to be rushed by ambulance to Brighton. Her daughter was born on Christmas Day and spent 68 days in an intensive care neonatal cot.
After 12 days, however, Taylor was told her own bed in the neonatal unit was needed and she had to move to a hostel. “The treatment was fantastic but the system is crazy,” she said.
Her 60-mile journey was minor compared with Tracey Harrison’s expedition. She was 28 weeks pregnant with triplets when complications developed. There were no cots available locally so Derriford hospital in Plymouth arranged for the RAF to fly her to St Mary’s in Manchester in a helicopter. After 10 days she was brought back to Plymouth and gave birth on January 4. “I was very distressed. The system is rubbish,” said Harrison.
The Department of Health said: “In 2003 we announced an extra £70m over three years. It takes time to train neonatal intensive care nurses and develop clinical networks. That is why this funding will take time to take effect.”
