Key Summary
- Midwife shortage at Gloucestershire Trust is resolved through increased recruitment
- Maternity services struggled with partial or full unit closures since 2022
- Health needs assessment underway to guide long-term maternity care planning
The Gloucestershire Hospitals Trust has solved the issue of midwife shortage through increased recruitment.
Gloucestershire was under the spotlight since Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s national investigation on maternity care in England conducted in June when it was described as one of ‘the trusts of greatest concern’.
Their maternity services had been constantly ranked ‘inadequate’ since 2022.
Out of their three maternity units, one was partially shut while another one was completely shut due to staff shortage, making the rank stay low for a long time.
Kevin McNamara, Gloucestershire Trust’s new boss who took over in 2024 took up the responsibility of improving this situation.
McNamara recently declared that the issue has been ‘resolved’ via an ongoing health need assessment conducted to understand local maternity needs.
Earlier, women could not seek postnatal care after giving birth as the Aveta Birth Unit in Cheltenham was fully shut.
They can give birth at the hospital in Stroud, but cannot stay there and are transferred to Gloucester for postnatal care.
Services were confined to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital – the only fully functioning maternity unit.
"Last year, we were in a very precarious position when it came to the number of midwives," McNamara recollected.
"We've resolved that issue, we now have more midwives than we ever have done in the service but there's more work to do with some other staff groups," he added.
McNamara added that the health needs assessment that will wind up in the autumn will provide better clarity for the trust regarding maternity service planning for the next five to ten years.
