20 April 2018

Full services, including births, will resume at Bridgnorth Midwife Led Unit (MLU) on Sunday 22 April.

However, births at Oswestry and Ludlow MLUs are to be temporarily suspended for between two and four weeks to ensure the safe care of mums using Shropshire’s maternity services.

  • Inpatient services (births and postnatal care) at Oswestry MLU will be temporarily suspended from 8am on Saturday 21 April until 8am on Sunday 6 May. The units will remain open between 8am and 8pm for antenatal and postnatal services.

 

  • Inpatient services (births and postnatal care) at Ludlow MLU will be temporarily suspended from 8am on Sunday 22 April until 8am on Sunday 20 May. The units will remain open between 8am and 8pm for antenatal and postnatal services.

Full services at Bridgnorth MLU will resume at 8am on Sunday 22 April. During the temporary suspension of inpatient services at the unit, which commenced on 25 March, the unit remained open between 8am and 8pm for antenatal and postnatal services.

Women booked to give birth at Oswestry MLU or Ludlow MLU who go into labour during this time will be offered a birth at another MLU or the Consultant-led unit at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford or may choose the option of a home birth. If any women due to give birth at Oswestry MLU or Ludlow MLU require support during this time they will be able to access a Midwife. All women potentially affected by the suspensions are being contacted.

Sarah Jamieson, Head of Midwifery at SaTH, said: “The issues which have been affecting our maternity service continue, and our midwives are being deployed appropriately to maintain choice as much as possible while ensuring the services we provide are safe.

“Currently we have more mothers due to give birth in the Bridgnorth area and we are trying to ensure that we maintain services where our mothers are choosing to be. In line with this we must also ensure that our consultant led unit is appropriately staffed. Consolidating our staff in this way will enable this.

“I must reiterate that decisions over staffing are made purely on the basis of safety and it is important that our midwives are where our mothers are. The safety of women and babies using our maternity services has been, and always will be, our number one priority.

“I would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”