Matthew Hopkins, the NHS Alliance’s lead director for acute care, has stated that the NHS needs to reduce the number of hospitals providing maternity services in England. He believes this is necessary to help keep patients safe.
Mr Hopkins, who has run four different NHS trusts, acknowledged that such changes would be controversial and unpopular. He noted they would mainly affect hospitals in rural and coastal areas, potentially requiring pregnant women to travel further to give birth. These hospitals often struggle more than city hospitals to recruit sufficient doctors and midwives.
He explained his belief that an NHS-wide lack of obstetricians and a rapid increase in caesarean births mean some consultant-led maternity units will have to close. He specifically mentioned units handling 1,500 to 2,000 births a year, primarily in rural and coastal areas, as potentially needing to shut due to understaffing preventing safe 24-hour care. Mr Hopkins cited a figure of 20 places where centralisation of services may be needed.
The government’s maternity and neonatal care taskforce is preparing to publish a major report before Christmas. This report will outline recommendations to address issues in NHS maternity services in England and will form the basis of a maternity action plan.