A hospital in the city has temporarily suspended birthing services, North Bristol NHS Trust has confirmed. Last week, BristolLive reported that expectant mums were being told by their midwives that Cossham birth centre was to be shut until Christmas.
At the time, NBT said no decision had been made and that it was currently reviewing whether "temporary steps" at Cossham were needed due to workforce challenges. The trust has this morning (October 17) confirmed the temporary closure and said no date for reopening had been set as the decision would be kept "under constant review".
North Bristol NHS Trust’s chief nursing officer Steve Hams said: “Like many NHS organisations across the country, we are facing workforce challenges due to sickness and vacancies.
Read next: Expectant mums told Cossham birth centre could close until Christmas
“As a result, we have decided to temporarily suspend our birthing service at Cossham Birth Centre and divert labouring women to the midwife-led Mendip Birth Centre at Southmead Hospital - this will ensure that we are able to maintain a safe service. We have temporarily suspended the service before in similar circumstances and our focus has always been on resuming the full service as soon as possible.
“Our improved home birth service, which launched this month, will continue to be available as an option for women on a case-by-case basis. All antenatal and postnatal clinics at Cossham are unaffected and running as normal.
“Any woman worried about this decision should, in the first instance contact their midwife.”
Back in 2018, Cossham birth centre also had to shut for several months due to a shortage of midwives and new Government rules. Back then, staff from Cossham birth centre were asked to work at Southmead's unit while the temporary closure was in place as, at that point, all calls to Cossham Birth Centre from women in labour were also diverted to Southmead Hospital's midwife-led unit.
Back then, home birth services also continued to be available on a case by case basis and all community antenatal and postnatal clinics at Cossham were unaffected and running as normal. Speaking last week, mum-of-two Siobhan - whose third child is due in December - said she was told two weeks ago that they were operating on a day-by-day basis as to whether they were able to be open as a birth centre.
She said at the time: "My midwife told me that staffing is so delicate that they can't make any guarantees.
"She acknowledged that this level of ambiguity is really difficult for pregnant women. For me, even though there are some factors that make Cossham my preferred choice, I would rather plan for a home birth rather than have the uncertainty of whether it will be open on the day - so I am just going ahead with a home birth plan now.
"I think it is really unfortunate that such a special service such as Cossham birth centre is so under-supported as it is a vital service for a whole sector of women who want to prioritize as natural a birth as possible but can't have a home birth. Surely this puts a lot more pressure on the already stretched home birth team."
Are you an expectant mum due to give birth in the coming months? We are looking into the midwife shortage in the city and would love to hear from you to find out more about your experience of the service. Please contact me directly on estel.farellroig@reachplc.com
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