THE town’s birthing centre is set to re-open on 31st October, as the ‘first stage in a phased return of the full community and home birth service’, after being suspended for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and staff shortages.
Frome Birthing Centre closed at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and then did not re-open as a result of staff shortages and challenges with recruiting student midwives onto courses.
A local Frome mother Iris Andrews, who has been affected by the closure of the centre said, “It’s fantastic news for the community that the birth centre will re-open, not a minute too soon! But still really disappointing for those of us who want to birth at home, and I feel for those in Chippenham, Paulton and Trowbridge who are still waiting.
“Home birth is long acknowledged to be safe for low-risk mothers, associated with fewer interventions and a shorter recovery time. I had my first child at home and desperately want to have this one at home too so will be waiting on tenterhooks for further updates and really hoping the homebirth service is also reinstated as soon as humanly possible (and in time for my baby to arrive!)”
In September, staff from Frome Birthing Centre, child birth groups and Frome Town Council met to discuss the impact of the closure on local and expectant families. They wanted to seek clarity about why the centre was closed and gain a timeline for when it was due to reopen.
During that meeting, deputy chief nurse and director of Frome birthing centre, Sarah Merritt explained that there is a national shortage of midwives and said that they were unable to run the service safely. She explained that due to Covid, many midwives had left the service or brought their retirement forward early, creating further recruitment challenges.
It has now been announced that recruitment challenges are starting to be overcome, so the birthing centre can re-open. In a statement on Bath’s Royal United Hospital (RUH) website Sarah Merritt said, “We outlined the plan we had in place to recruit additional midwives and support our existing staff. Since then, we have welcomed a number of experienced, as well as newly qualified midwives to our team. We continue with our successful recruitment drive and look forward to welcoming more new colleagues later in the year.
“As a result, we are pleased to confirm that from 31st October 2022 we will be able to support births in our Frome maternity unit. This will be the first stage in a phased return of our full community and home birth service.”
Town councillor Carla Collenette said, “I am pleased to hear that Frome’s Birthing Centre will reopen and will be able to support births at the centre from the end of the month. Being able to choose where you birth your baby is a human right and I’m sure this partial reinstatement of services will bring relief to many local families.
“I look forward to hearing that home births will also be reinstated and that the women of Frome and the surrounding areas will have their full birthing choices restored. Thank you to our local midwives and the RUH maternity services team for doing their absolute best in extremely challenging circumstances.”
