Ipswich Hospital to restore gas and air pain relief at birth unit

The workplace exposure limit for nitrous oxide is 100 parts per million in the air in the room

A hospital trust has said access to gas and air for women giving birth should be partly re-introduced in two weeks.

Ipswich Hospital stopped offering the pain relief in December after finding high levels of residual nitrous oxide in delivery suites.

"Until there is a safe and effective solution, we are unable to reintroduce gas and air to ensure we keep our maternity team safe," the trust said.

Work to improve ventilation in delivery suites was now under way, it added.

About 50% of women use gas and air to help them give birth, according to Dr Giles Thorpe, chief nurse at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital.

The trust that runs Ipswich Hospital said it was "confident" gas and air would be made available "the week after next"

Dr Thorpe added that it was the trust's "responsibility" to ensure that it was compliant with gas and air - nitrous oxide - levels in the atmosphere of the delivery suites, as set out by the Health & Safety Executive.

"We are confident we will be able to reinstate the utilisation of gas and air services, not everywhere, but as we continue, the week after next, we are very confident we will be able to offer a gas and air service again," he said.

Mobile ventilation units - scavenger units- to help purify the air were brought in, but these were found to be unsuitable for smaller birthing rooms.

Midwives were supporting people to help them with alternative pain relief choices, the trust said.

Basildon Hospital in Essex recently withdrew gas and air for similar reasons.

The nitrous oxide gas and oxygen mix is also known as Entonox.

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