Pontefract maternity unit to permanently close

The NHS has announced that the maternity unit at Pontefract Hospital will close permanently.

Friarwood Birth Centre temporarily closed its doors in 2019 due to a shortage of midwives, and the closure has now been made permanent.

The NHS have said the number of births at the unit was “lower than expected” so it cannot justify staff being deployed there.

A report said that around 200 women gave birth at Pontefract each year before the suspension of the unit and midwives continued to work at centres where the numbers were higher.

The Mid Yorkshire NHS Hospitals Trust said maternity provision would continue to be offered at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield, and a full range of both antenatal and postnatal care would still be available at Pontefract Hospital.  Women will also have the choice of giving birth at home, subject to clinical assessment.

Anne-Marie Henshaw, director of midwifery at the trust, said recruiting midwives in the area was “still a challenge”.  She went on to say “We’ve worked really hard to attract, to recruit, to develop and to retain our staff.”

She added “At the moment the future looks positive in terms of workforce, although we recognise that there are regional and national fragilities in maternity workforce generally.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said “The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by over £2.4bn in government funding, is aiming to increase the number of nursing and midwifery training places to around 58,000 by 2031/32 and we have also invested £165m a year since 2021 to improve maternity and neonatal care.

“This will rise to £186m a year in 2024/25, improving the quality of care for mothers and babies, and increasing the number of midwifery posts available.”

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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (jacquelinevance@chadlaw.co.uk), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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