NHS childbirth cuts simply don’t make sense…
Clinical Negligence solicitor Richard Kayser, from our London office, is seriously concerned that NHS cuts in obstetrics and midwifery will do far more harm than good…
How many more children need to be injured before the government and medical profession will sit up and take notice?
The Times newspaper, commenting on a joint report from the Midwifery Council and Royal College of Obstetricians, says: “The NHS maternity system is ‘unsustainable’ and too often provides poor care at night when it is ‘propped up by junior doctors’.”
Week after week we receive calls from parents of children with brain damage who suffer from conditions such as cerebral palsy through sub-standard treatment during their birth.
In many cases the parents attended hospitals in the evening or at weekends and did not received the care or attention needed. These injuries could have easily been avoided had more staff – including senior midwifes, registrars and consultants – been available.
Healthcare should be a 24/7 service, not 9-5. In the long term, with ever more claims arising as a result of limited staff availability, this surely can’t save the NHS money, can it?
The Midwifery Council and Royal College of Obstetricians’ findings identify clear areas where change is needed. But with the NHS going through huge cost-cutting measures, aren’t these changes moving in the wrong direction?
So is this government’s transformation of the NHS actually going to save money in the long term, or merely increase the level of claims?