Trust gives latest update on North Devon maternity unit reopening
Health trust says the next North Devon maternity unit update will be in November
The maternity unit at North Devon District Hospital remains closed following the latest review by the health trust.
In an update today (Tuesday, October 27) the trust said following its scheduled ‘readiness assessment’ yesterday, birthing services at the Ladywell Unit in Barnstaple’s hospital would remain suspended.
The Royal Devon trust provided few details in its latest update but reiterated it was still committed to reopening the service as soon as possible and said the next scheduled review would take place on November 9.
The unit was temporarily closed on August 11 due to a lack of senior doctors and difficulty in recruiting more – since then more than 200 women have had to give birth at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
A statement posted this afternoon on the trust website said: “We remain committed to reopening birthing services at NDDH as soon as possible.
“We are continuing in our efforts to recruit both temporary and substantive staff. We've formally requested support from the wider NHS and we're looking internationally to strengthen our approach to substantive recruitment.
“We are continuing to work towards a provisional reopening and will undertake our next readiness assessment on Monday, November 9, when we will provide our next update.”
The statement also said: “While the temporary suspension continues all current support arrangements remain in place. Women and birthing people should continue to follow their personalised birth plans on the basis of giving birth at the RD&E or their next nearest hospital.
“Women should continue to contact maternity triage on 01392 406616 early if they think they may be in labour or have urgent concerns.”