WYCOMBE MP Steve Baker today urged hospital chiefs against an atmosphere of ‘poison and distrust’ over the controversial closure of Wycombe’s birthing services.
He said there had not been a ‘good atmosphere’ over the shock announcement that Wycombe Hospital’s midwife led unit would shut for three months from August 1.
Bosses said there was not enough staff – but were today questioned by a health watchdog over how they will keep it open in the long term.
Speaking after a presentation by hospital managers, he said: “We have had some tense conversations over the last week.”
He said: “I’m very grateful for your commitment to re-opening the unit and towards making it viable.”
Mr Baker said: “The key thing is we have to deliver an NHS that meets people’s expectations.
“But, at the moment, the atmosphere within which changes are happing is not the right atmosphere. We had so much argument over the last week over the MLU.”
He warned against ‘poison and distrust in places’ and called for a ‘much more positive involvement for everybody’.
Chiefs say there must be 250 births in the 12 months from last October – when doctor-led births left Wycombe – and 350 and then 450 in the following two years.
About 30 babies are being born there each month at present.
Yet Anne Eden, chief executive of Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “It is quite clear from the figures that the activity is too low.
“For us to maintain a viable number from a business perspective we would need to have something like 450 deliveries a year through the MLU.
Hospital boss Anne Eden.
“Clearly the [trust] board will need to make a decision further down stream in terms of the ongoing viability of the unit.”
She pointed to ‘very very difficult strained fiscal times’ and called for more women to use the unit with the support of GPs, family doctors and the media.
Miss Eden said: “Without that is fair to say there is a question mark over the long-term viability.”
She acknowledged numbers were hit by the choice of units in Slough and Aylesbury.
But this was ‘separate’ to next month’s closure which the meeting heard was caused by a midwife shortage at Wycombe and Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury, also run by BHT.
Amongst the 165 full time posts, seven were on maternity leave with seven more to follow and numbers were also hit by long-term sickness, it heard.
Head of midwifery Celina Eves admitted ‘cherry picking’ replacement midwives from neighbouring trusts but said they had not been inducted to the right standard yet.
She said: “You make the whole of the service safe by closing one small part of it. It is the bigger picture we have to consider.”
The trust said the shortage of 20 midwives was also caused by ‘natural turnover’ and staff not wishing to work in Aylesbury after doctor-led births left Wycombe in October.
Councillor Paul Rogerson said: “You are assuming that your staff will be willing to travel to Wycombe?”
Mrs Eves said: “All my staff are on rotational contracts.”
But Cllr Alan Oxley said: “A number of midwives left because of your transfer to Aylesbury.
“I’m concerned by doing this you will lose the Wycombe ones who do not want to go to Aylesbury.”
Councillor Mike Appleyard, chairman of the Buckinghamshire County Council committee, said: “We welcome the commitment of the hospital trust to the birthing unit at Wycombe.
“What we would wish to see and talk about is how we can all make sure that we get the numbers up in Wycombe.”
The matter was discussed by BCC’s overview and scrutiny committee for public health services in Denham this morning.
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