‘Provisional’ date revealed for reopening of North Devon's maternity unit
All being well, the health trust intends to reopen the maternity unit at Barnstaple hospital at the end of September
Health bosses have given a provisional date for resuming births at North Devon’s maternity unit.
The proposed date to reopen the Ladywell unit at North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple has been set as Tuesday, September 29, “subject to meeting essential safety criteria.”
The Royal Devon trust said it had made “positive progress” in recruiting the medical staff needed to safely reopen the service, which was temporarily suspended on August 11 due to lack of staff, which was deemed to unsafe to allow births to continue.
In a statement today (Tuesday, September 1) the trust said: “Following a review of staffing thresholds and the progress of the recruitment and induction pipeline we are confident that we have the medical staff required.
“This provisional date for reopening is dependent on achieving finals check of the staffing rotas, the skill mix needed across the clinical team, and achieving all essential safety criteria.”
It said a final review and formal decision to confirm reopening will take place on Monday, September 14.
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.”
Since the closure it is understood around 50 North Devon women have needed to travel to Exeter to give birth.
The trust said for the moment, anyone due to give birth in the near future should follow their current personalised birth plans and continue to call maternity triage on 01392 406616 early if they think they may be in labour or have urgent concerns.
A dedicated helpline for anyone who is pregnant and has questions about the suspension is available on 01271 335773, from 9am to 5pm on week days.