THE future of Frome’s birth centre could be under threat after the Royal United Hospital Trust announced plans to ‘redesign’ its maternity services.
The Trust, which manages Frome Birth Centre, announced it will be looking at the maternity services it provides ‘to make sure we are getting it right for women and families, both now and in the future.’
But campaigners want to make sure the Frome Birth Centre at Frome Community Hospital stays open and are urging local people to make their views known.
Of the 4,845 babies born with the RUH’s maternity services in 2015/15, 244 were born at the Frome Birth Centre, an average of 20 births per month.
The Trust says that despite efforts to promote birth centres, it hasn’t seen a sustained increase in the number of mothers choosing to give birth at their local centre, with the majority of babies born at the RUH’s Bath Birth Centre.
The Trust held an informal discussion group in Radstock last month with another planned at Melksham Assembly Hall on Tuesday 7th March from 1-3.30pm. An online survey is also available for those unable to attend.
Amanda Gell, senior midwifery matron at the RUH said, “ To help us in our planning for the future we want to understand what matters most to those who use our services. We’re really keen to hear from as many people as possible.”
Tillie Mabbutt, who runs the Frome branch of PANDAS Foundation UK, which offers peer support to women suffering from pre and postnatal mental illness said, “At the moment we don’t know how the RUH’s Trust’s plans for the future will affect Frome Birth Centre. But any threat of closure or even a cut in opening hours would be hugely detrimental.
“It’s really important to have local midwives for local mothers and also continuity. To have only one or two midwives looking after one woman the whole way through her pregnancy is so important for building relationships and trust, which has a positive impact on mum and baby. If mums have to travel to Bath, they could potentially see a different midwife at every appointment.
“The distance is a huge inconvenience but also can add levels of anxiety, especially for working women, who would have to take time off work to attend appointments. A lot of women already worry their employers will treat them differently because they are pregnant, add to this anxiety a 16-mile journey to Bath for a checkup, and it can make pregnancy very stressful.
“If the centre was just open in the day, this would put added stress on mums. Labour doesn’t just happen in the day, quite often it’s in the middle of the night! If Frome was closed at night, mums would have to travel 16 miles to Bath, in pain and feeling very uncomfortable, and also it’s often the case that they aren’t quite ready to be admitted and would be told to go home and come back when they are further along; that’s not a problem if you are 15 minutes away, but not 30+ minutes.
“If the centre was to close competely, it would be disastrous. To be able to give pregnant women a choice to have their baby locally is amazing and Frome is very lucky to have the unit. I speak to a lot of mums and they say being seen at Frome Birth Centre feels like being at home. They can come in on their lunch break from work, or pop in any time if they are worried or have any questions and they will see a familiar face who knows them; they don’t feel like just a number on a long list of patients.
“Any decision they make now may save money in the short term but in the long term, it could come back and bite them. The RUH is already under a lot of pressure, it would make no sense to close local units which take the pressure off staff at the main hospitals.
“Bringing babies into the world is fundamental to us and is not something that is ever going to decrease, so our local maternity services must be protected and maintained at current levels to give all parents choice, ease and peace of mind, which in turn gives babies the best start in life.”
For more information, a link to the survey or to book your space at the discussion, visit www.ruh.nhs.uk/about/redesigning_maternity_services/.
