Fears grow over future of local maternity services

THE future of Melksham’s closest birth centres could be under threat as the Royal United Hospital announce plans to ‘redesign its maternity services’.

The RUH NHS Foundation Trust, which manages birth centres in Trowbridge and Chippenham hospitals ann-ounced it will be looking at the maternity services ‘to make sure we are getting it right for women and families, both now and in the future.’

But campaigners want to make sure the local birth centres stay open and are urging local people to make their views known.

Of the 4,845 babies born with the RUH’s maternity services in 2015/15, 291 were born in Trowbridge and 196 in Chippenham.

The Trust says that despite efforts to promote birth centres, it hasn’t seen a sustained increase in the number of mothers choosing to give birth at their local centre, with the majority of babies born at the RUH’s Bath Birth Centre.

The Trust will be holding an informal discussion group at Melksham Assembly Hall on Tuesday 7th March from 1-3.30pm.   An online survey is also  available for those unable to attend a group session.

Amanda Gell, senior midwifery matron at the RUH said, “ To help us in our planning for the future we want to understand what matters most to those who use our services. We’re really keen to hear from as many people as possible.”

Real concern

Melksham councillor and mother-of-two, Hayley Spencer said, “It’s a real concern that the Trust is looking into redesigning its maternity services and I do worry about our local facilities.

“Community facilities are vital and I feel very strongly that we should be increasing our health care facilities, not closing them down.

“Of course, we don’t know what the plans are yet but if local birth centres’ opening hours were cut or if centres were closed down altogether, it would have a huge impact on mothers and their families.

“Having to travel to Bath for a routine checkup can add stress onto a pregnant women; add to that having to take time off work for appointments and it can have an impact on mother and baby. Women today don’t want to feel any less of a person just because they are pregnant, they still want to work and be taken seriously by their employers. It is a lot easier to schedule a midwife in your lunch hour, than having to take half a day off work to travel to Bath.

Night-time service

“If hours are cut, there’s the issue of going into labour at night. When I had my daughter Robyn I was being seen in Bath because there were complications. On two occasions I thought I had gone into labour but was told to go home and wait a bit longer, but the midwife said  if I thought I was in labour again, go to Trowbridge to be checked first. This was in the middle of the night, so if Trowbridge wasn’t open, I would have had to go back to Bath! Luckily the next time I was in labour and I stayed.

“The local birth centres are clearly being used and appointment slots are being taken, so why close them down? I understand the NHS is under a huge amount of pressure but moving women to the RUH in Bath won’t help. They do a fantastic job and it’s not until you need maternity services that you realise how vital they are.”

For more information, a link to the survey or to book your space at the discussion, visit www.ruh.nhs.uk/about/redesigning_maternity_services/