Stroud: Women 'feel let down' by closure of postnatal beds

Campaigners say they are receiving "daily calls" from women concerned about the suspension of a maternity unit's postnatal beds.

Callers are said to be "distressed", "angry" and "feeling let down" by the changes at Stroud Maternity Unit.

People can still give birth there but since October have been asked to leave within 12 hours.

The hospital trust says the move is due to a shortage of midwives and will be reviewed in January.

It also stressed it is committed to the long term future of the maternity unit.

Kate Buckingham, chair of Stroud Maternity Matters, which represents patients and also works alongside the unit's midwives, said some women are choosing not to give birth at the unit.

"The accounts we hear from women is that they are distressed, they're angry and they're feeling let down," she said.

"The beds have been part of their birth choices package and it's not just an optional extra or a satellite service.

"This was core to their sense of empowerment and core to their sense that they would be able to birth in the way they wanted to."

More than 6,800 people have signed a petition calling on the trust to reopen the six beds as a matter of urgency.

Katerina Hasapopoulos, from Stroud, was hoping to recover in one of the beds after giving birth to her son Solomon in November, having used them after delivering her four older children.

"I've always stayed for a short period of time to get some respite and to recover from birth but most importantly to establish breastfeeding," she said.

"What about those who don't know what to expect and haven't breastfed before?

"There's several new mums I know who have been sent home without knowing the basics of how to look after their child.

"From how to change a nappy, to how to bathe baby, to different positions to breastfeed."

Stroud's Conservative MP, Siobhan Baillie, used the postnatal beds after giving birth to both of her children, most recently in the summer.

She said high-quality postnatal care is vital for women across Gloucestershire and the UK as a whole.

"It's not a fluffy issue, it's not a nice to have, it's not a luxury," she said.

"For some women it's the difference of mental health recovery and their ability to not only parent their new baby but their other children.

"And it can be life and death if maternity teams are able to spot things that are going on with the mother or the baby."

She added she has raised the issue with the Secretary of State for Health, Steve Barclay.

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was previously reviewing the measure on a weekly basis but has now said it will not consider reopening the beds until January.

Chief executive Deborah Lee said: "Thanks to a range of targeted initiatives from our dedicated midwifery recruitment team we have made significant progress over the summer in recruiting new midwives, with 14 new starters in October and a further seven being offered places in November.

"However, staffing remains very challenging due to a combination of sickness, maternity leave, Covid-related sickness and an ongoing national shortage of midwives.

"Given that it is unlikely that staffing levels will change sufficiently to enable us to reopen the service in the coming weeks, we have decided to move from a weekly review pattern, to a review in January."

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