Prime minister Andy Burnham pledges action on maternity closure

Andy Burnham has committed to reopening North Devon District Hospital’s maternity unit during his first Prime Minister’s Questions.

The new PM described the current situation where women are having to travel up to two hours to give birth following the closure three weeks ago “unacceptable.”

He was quizzed by leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Ed Davey, who said: “When my kids were born I cannot imagine the extra stress and anxiety that would have caused us. This should be unthinkable in our country.

“So will the prime minister commit to reopening North Devon’s maternity unit in days not weeks and we stop maternity units closing across the country so expectant mums never have to face such terrifying distances.”

Mr Burnham responded and said: “Let me give a direct answer, I will commit to reopening, but not within days, I don’t think I am in a position to make that commitment today.

“I am in agreement with him, that it is not acceptable for people living in the North Devon area to have to travel that far

“Let me take that away and let me also say to him, with honesty, there are structural issues here affecting maternity services across the UK.

“This is not the only hospital where there have been difficulties, I am aware from my former time as secretary of state for health that there have been long standing shortages of midwives across the country and I believe it is right that we look at all those issues.

“I can give him my guarantee that my right honourable friend, the health secretary, is looking at those issues following the recent maternity reviews we have had.”

North Devon MP Ian Roome responded to the debate yesterday and said: “I was grateful to Ed Davey for accepting my request to raise the suspension of births at our hospital. The Royal Devon NHS Trust has made progress with recruitment and plans to reopen maternity services in a month, but this crisis should never have happened.

“Pregnant women have been left anxious and abandoned, with more than 56 births already redirected to Exeter, including journeys of up to two hours while in labour. That is simply not an acceptable standard of maternity care.

“More than 15,000 people have backed our campaign to save North Devon’s maternity services. We won the fight to get them reopened, but with weeks still to wait, the Health Secretary must step in personally to prevent future closures and keep women and babies safe.”

The Royal Devon trust closed the Ladywell Unit at NDDH on August 11 due a shortage of consultant obstetricians and registrars, saying it was unsafe to allow births there.

In a statement on Tuesday, the trust gave a provisional date for reopening as Tuesday, September 29 subject to having the skill mix needed, final checks on staffing rotas and meeting essential safety criteria.

It said it had made “positive progress” in recruiting the medical staff needed to safely reopen.

Sir Ed Davey also referred to women “being taught to give birth in their cars,” a claim featured in recent media coverage. The Gazette did not cover this story.

The health trust has strongly disputed these claims and said it had not provided any advice to people on: “having their babies either on the side of the road or in the back of their cars. We understand the advice discussed in the media is being shared by an external organisation independent of both the Royal Devon and the NHS.”

Speaking following Tuesday’s provisional reopening date announcement, Dr Vanessa Purday, the trust’s chief medical officer, said: “We fully recognise the disruption and anxiety caused by the temporary suspension and we are grateful to women and birthing people, their families, colleagues and partners for their patience and support.

“This is an important step forward towards restoring services closer to home and being assured of patient safety and continuity of care. We hope this provides certainty for our colleagues who work in those services, for women, birthing people and their families and the communities that rely on these services.”