A North East NHS trust has come under fire for posting a job advert for midwives committed to "normal birth" – just a week after a damning report into baby and mother deaths at hospitals in the Midlands.
The Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust has taken down an advert in which it said it was "seeking a highly motivated, experienced dynamic midwife to join our team who is committed to the philosophy of normal birth". It had said the new staff member would work as part of midwifery unit teams that "are staffed by passionate, normality-focused midwives".
With the advert now offline, a senior executive at the trust has reassured patients that it was currently "reviewing the language" in its adverts and said the "safety of mothers, babies and their families remains at the heart of everything we do". The trust, which runs hospitals in Northumberland and North Tyneside, has recently been voted one of the best in the country by patients for its maternity care.
Read more: Tyneside medics reflect on 'sobering' Ockenden report into tragic maternity deaths
The row follows a review of failings at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust where some mothers were made to have natural births despite the fact they should have been offered a Caesarean. The review found that around 200 babies and nine mothers could or would have survived if it had provided better care.
The trust’s low Caesarean rate was regarded nationally and locally as a positive. But in the review, senior midwife Donna Ockenden found the trust presided over catastrophic failings for 20 years and did not learn from its own inadequate investigations, which led to babies being stillborn, dying shortly after birth or being left severely brain damaged.
In early March, Gill Walton, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), also apologised for the organisation's role in promoting "normal births". The phrase refers to "natural" deliveries as opposed to Caesarean sections. The RCM ran a campaign from 2008 on the topic, including tips for midwives on how to achieve a "normal birth". These included to "wait and see" and "trust your intuition".
What's your experience of maternity care? Let us know in the comments below
The suggestion was that Caesareans should only be a last resort. A number of investigations into maternity care failings have criticised examples of midwives delaying action as a reason contributing to poor care. Ms Walton told the Sunday Times: "At the beginning, I think the normal birth campaign was doing the right thing, but there are some elements that when we look back, they are not as evidence-based as we would have wanted.
"The 'wait and see' makes me feel uncomfortable ... When we look back at that, that may have been interpreted wrongly. If that has contributed to poor care, then as a college we would be really sorry about that."
A second advert from Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust was also highlighted. Both had been discovered by patient safety campaigner James Titcombe, whose became a campaigner for maternity safety in the NHS after his son Joshua died at Furness General Hospital in Cumbria in 2008.
Mr Titcombe said on Twitter: "I've had helpful conversations with the right senior people today & I’m reassured by the response. Let’s work towards a philosophy of ‘safe & personal’ maternity care with women & families always at the centre."
Similar adverts have been posted earlier by NHS trusts in Lewisham and Airedale.
In a statement, Marion Dickson, executive director of nursing, midwifery & AHPs at Northumbria Healthcare, said: "The safety of our mothers, babies and their families remains at the heart of everything we do. I would like to reassure the public that we are currently reviewing the language used across all of our digital platforms and patient information to reflect the recommendations in the recent report by Donna Ockenden."
An NHS England spokesperson said: “We have been made aware of concerns regarding a number of job adverts and we will be contacting the relevant trusts to remind them of the importance of ensuring language is consistent with our aim that all women have the necessary information and support to make informed, personalised and safe decisions about their care.
"Following last week’s important report from Donna Ockenden, the NHS has written to all trusts to review its recommendations and take action on the findings, so that maternity services are as safe as possible for mothers, babies and their families."
