NHS ALLIANCE DIRECTOR URGES CHANGES TO MATERNITY UNITS

Matthew Hopkins, the NHS Alliance’s director for acute care, has warned that up to 20 maternity units in England may need to close or change their role. He said concentrating childbirth services in fewer hospitals would help provide safer care amid shortages of obstetricians and rising rates of caesarean sections. The proposed changes would affect some of England’s 155 NHS maternity units led by consultant obstetricians. Hopkins called for a thorough appraisal of where maternity services should be located. He described the current arrangement as “not fit for purpose”.

Hopkins said smaller units delivering about 1,500 to 2,000 babies a year face particular staffing pressures. He identified rural and coastal areas as places where recruiting staff presents particular difficulties. Women in areas affected by closures would have to travel further to give birth. Hannah Leonard, chief policy officer of the Royal College of Midwives, said families rely on local units when they need care. “We must ensure there are high-quality services close to home,” she said.

Hopkins urged ministers and MPs to back changes to maternity services despite the political opposition he expects them to face. He said consolidating services was “inevitable” and would support safer, more sustainable care. His warning comes as England’s maternity services face scrutiny over care at hospitals in Nottingham. A review found that systemic failures and poor care there had harmed or contributed to the deaths of hundreds of mothers and babies over more than a decade. Hopkins did not identify which units he believed should close or change their role.