Check-out this link http://nhsblogdoc.blogspot.com/2006/11/more-dead-babies.html
In Bridlington they have been even more courageous. They are not only reducing admissions, they are closing parts of the hospital.
Women told to give birth at home
A maternity unit in Bridlington is to close as an NHS trust attempts to claw back £7m+ of overspending. Hospital bosses say mothers-to-be in the town will be encouraged to opt for home births. The move is part of a raft of measures announced by Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare Trust on Friday, in a bid to save £4.5m a year.
The trust also announced a recruitment freeze, but said it did not plan any compulsory redundancies. The trust's interim chief executive, Iain McInnes, acknowledged that the cuts would be "painful", but insisted they would benefit patients in the long run.
And how can they possible justify this extraordinary decision?
Have they asked the mothers-to-be about this? Of course not. Have they asked the Consultant Obstetricians and the GPs about this? Of course not. Who have they asked? The people who really “know” about delivering babies. Our old friends, the original nurse-specialists : the midwives.
Did you know; that some mothers booked into Bridlington Maternity still end up at Scarborough...this of course is denighed by the Trust, as in the case of the person who gave birth recently in a Garage car-park (filling station).....Since December 2006 Christmas up-to-date 12/01/07.... 3 mothers have given birth en-route to Scarborugh Hospital when the maternity at Bridlington could be used??? Does this make sense; why should mother & baby have to go through this in the 21st century...
Iain McInnes said the Bridlington maternity unit closure had been agreed after consultation with midwives who had told the trust that most mothers would prefer to give birth at home.
So, a maternity unit is closed because the lunatic fringe of midwives likes home births. Dr Crippen cannot speak for the women of Bridlington but where he works less than five percent of women ask for home deliveries. Are Yorkshire women so different? THE TRUST REPLY:
Good Morning Mick
Firstly the Bridlington Hospital midwife led Maternity Unit IS NOT CLOSED.
Midwife led “home from home” births are still taking place at Bridlington and are still being booked for future delivery. Home deliveries are also continuing and will continue in the Bridlington area. THE DECISION WHETHER TO CHANGE SERVICES WILL NOT BE MADE UNTIL WE HAVE COMPLETED AND REVIEWED THE CURRENT PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCESS.
Secondly, in recent years a number of “first time births” have ALWAYS been delivered at Scarborough or Hull as these mums have been under consultant led care, with a complex pregnancy, and as such have needed a consultant led delivery. We have not had consultant led deliveries at Bridlington for a number of years.
There always have been, and probably always will be, a number of mums who deliver very quickly, despite all our best efforts to get them to where they need to be. We all work together; parents, ambulance services and our maternity staff, to try and ensure mums give birth where they need to be.
I do not know the detail of all the “roadside births” you refer to but I do know these were not births that were booked to deliver at Bridlington; most importantly all three mums and babies are doing well despite their unusual delivery.
Finally, I do not know the source of your incorrect information regarding closure of the midwifery led maternity unit at Bridlington Hospital , BUT thank you for giving me the opportuinty to correct the misinformation.
Regards Iain McInnes Interim Chief Executive Scarborough & North East Yorkshire NHS Trust
What do patients and their representatives think?
“…the cost-cutting measures have raised concern among patients' groups. Leo McGrory, who chairs the Patient and Public Involvement Forum at Scarborough Hospital, said: "The savings they're talking about are colossal. I think overall finances are top of the list and healthcare is secondary. The overall danger is that healthcare will deteriorate."
And, you may ask, why is all this being dealt with by an “interim” chief executive? It seems all is not well with hospital management in Bridlington.
In July, the Audit Commission ordered a review of the trust's finances, which were spiralling out of control. The review was ordered after the commission concluded that inadequate leadership and ineffective management were the cause of one of the worst deficits in the NHS nationally. The trust's chief executive Alison Guy and finance director Bernard Flynn were both told not to go into work as the review was launched.
Dr Crippen is accused of inflicting “weak satire” upon his readers. Once again, the pathologically malfunctioning Stalinist bureaucracy that New Labour has foisted on the NHS is beyond satire. In the private sector, managers who perform badly have their contracts terminated. (aka “being sacked”). In the NHS, poor performer are usually moved sideways to a new, equally or more lucrative job. If they were very senior, they may be given a knighthood or a peerage.
NHS bosses have refused to confirm or deny whether Mrs Guy and Mr Flynn have been officially suspended, simply saying they had been told to stay away from all the hospital trust's buildings and put on gardening leave on Full Pay? We can now tell you that in December 2006 Mrs Guy & Mr Flynn were in fact paid off; un-disclosed amounts???
I suspect that Alison and Bernard will still be drawing full salaries. It may be that their only offence was to refuse to bow to central government pressure to reduce the standard of healthcare in Bridlington.
Whatever happened, what an odd way to deal with senior staff.
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I am, as so often, grateful to the learned Potentilla for filling in the background to this story. Dr Crippen was correct to speculate about the provenance of the odd expression that the two senior executives had been "told to stay away from all the hospital trust's buildings."
Potentilla's research shows that there is an administrative can of worms underlying this story
Alison Guy : NHS Martyr?
Suspended chiefs 'refused cuts'
Two senior managers of an NHS Trust were suspended for putting services and staff before financial considerations, a union has claimed. The chief executive of Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust, Alison Guy, and finance director Bernard Flynn were suspended in July. Amicus said a report appeared to show they had favoured "operational over governance challenges". The union said that amounted to refusing to implement cuts. THESE COMMENTS ARE MADE BY DR CRIPPEN - FOLLOW THE LINK.....
Check-out this link http://nhsblogdoc.blogspot.com/2006/11/more-dead-babies.html
EXTRA INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY MICK PILLING
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