Babies Worldwide

A lack of maternity staff and poor communication within the NHS are significant barriers to improving the safety of care for mothers and babies, an independent report suggests today.

The Government has promised choice in where and how all women in Britain give birth, and one-to-one care from a named midwife by the end of this year.

Despite the best efforts of doctors and midwives, pledges to improve care for mothers and newborn babies could be threatened by a shortage of staff and poor NHS management, the report by the King’s Fund, the health think-tank, suggests.

Problems recruiting and keeping doctors and midwives were the biggest concern among frontline NHS staff who gathered at four regional events held in London and the North of England, according to the report.

Participants from London pointed out that 25 per cent of births in Britain take place within the boundaries of the M25 and the number is rising.

They added that often midwives in the capital, who have a full-time job at one trust, work shifts at a second, leading to concerns that many staff are exhausted.

Read the full story at  Times Online

Tags: midwife

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 at 6:36 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.