Cheltenham birth unit to remain closed due to midwife shortage

The birthing unit at Cheltenham General Hospital has been closed since 2022

Hospital bosses are unable to confirm when a birthing unit will reopen, despite midwife numbers improving.

The Aveta Birth Centre in Cheltenham and six postnatal beds at Stroud Maternity Hospital have been closed since 2022.

Director of midwifery at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, Lisa Stevens, said a midwife shortage was the reason for the prolonged closure.

She said an extensive recruitment programme was being carried out.

"We've had significant wins around recruiting newly-qualified midwives to our service," Ms Stevens told Gloucestershire County Council's health overview and scrutiny committee.

Recruitment plan

Midwifery was centralised to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in 2022 to ensure safe staffing levels and one-to-one care in labour and birth.

Ms Stevens said that a team is working on an "action plan" for recruitment and retention.

She added: "It's really important that we put focus in both of those areas. We are also focusing on our midwives feeling valued so they want to stay with us."

The number of midwives working in the department has increased from 243 in 2020 to 264 in December 2023, and the vacancy rate also dropped from 15% to 8%.

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has invested an extra £1.8m to increase maternity staffing since 2020, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

'Deprived of choice'

Chief executive, Kevin McNamara, said the priority is to focus on reopening Cheltenham first and the Stroud beds afterwards.

"Obviously we will be wanting to ensure our own board is assured we are not going to compromise from a safety perspective in the pursuit of opening it solely on choice," he added.

Councillor David Drew said the ongoing closures had deprived Gloucestershire women of choice.

"What I would really be asking for is we push on with getting more midwives, which is the real issue. We have got to get that sorted out," Mr Drew added.