Maternity Care 'Crisis' Alert In Craiavon

There are opposing views today on the extent of a 'crisis' facing Craigavon Area Hospital's maternity unit.

Almost a year after the issue was last raised, the midwifery professional body, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), is again at odds with the officials on staffing levels in the top Co Armagh hospital.

Martin Bradley, Chief Nursing Officer, said this morning that the RCM needed to "be careful with their use of language" as he feared that expectant mothers were being needlessly traumatised by the midwives' representative highlighting pressures on staff at the Craigavon facility.

Speaking on the BBC, Mr Bradley - who is a former director of the Royal College of Nursing - also insisted there were absolutely "no plans to close Criagavon's Maternity Unit" and underlined the various steps being taken to address problems.

"There is a concern here that we are painting a picture for the public that is not as accurate as it should be and causing unnecessary concern to mothers who are expecting to deliver babies," he said.

"It is a bit disingenuous to think that this morning mothers out there might feel that the unit in Craigavon is about in some way to collapse. That is not the case."

However, it has been claimed that expectant mothers are routinely being turned away from other units as no beds are available for them.

Breedagh Hughes, the NI Board Secretary of the Midwives' College, said this week that the reduction of maternity beds in Northern Ireland, coupled with the rising birth rate, had caught everyone 'on the hop'.

"It has happened in at least two of the Belfast hospitals, it has happened in Antrim," she said.

"We expect it is likely to happen in Craigavon also. I think it could happen any day now."

"The peace process in Northern Ireland, coupled with the rate of immigration, has seen the birth rate shoot up by 10% in recent years, and this is especially relevant in Craigavon," said Ms Hughes.

She also said that the Royal College is continuing to fight a proposal to close the unit at Lagan Valley in Lisburn.

"Such a move would be intolerable," she said.

Craigavon is facing continuing problems, as, last April, the Southern Health and Social care Trust was forced to refute claims that it was experiencing any midwifery crisis.

Jim McCall, Director of Acute Services at the Southern Health and Social Care Trust said at the time: "We are working with regional midwifery representatives, our maternity staff, community partners, the Southern Health Board and the Department of Health to ensure that services provided at Craigavon continue to be responsive to local need, recognise the changing needs of mums and mums to be and take account of a rising birth rate."

(BMcC/JM)