HYWEL DDA UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD is planning to make the Midwifery Led Unit at Withybush Hospital a retained service at night, meaning expectant mums will need to call their community mid wife and arrange to meet at the hospital.

The changes are expect to take place in November.

The move comes following a fall in the number of births in Pembrokeshire since consultant led services were moved from Withybush.

Last year, a total of 3,165 babies were delivered across the health board, with 142 of those being delivered at Withybush MLU.

This was a reduction from the 189 babies delivered at the unit in 2016, and the 160 babies delivered there in 2017.

The Health Board had originally denied that the unit, which opened in 2014, would become a day service with senior management saying that they expected no reduction in service for a unit which was expected to deliver 300 babies a year.

But the plans are no need for concern say the hospital. Keith Jones, Assistant Director of Acute Services said that he did not feel that the plans were a reduction of service for expectant mums in Pembrokeshire, confirming that Midwife Led Unit at Withybush Hospital will continue to be available to women 24 hours a day.

He told The Pembrokeshire Herald: “Our proposals will allow us to deploy our midwives and support staff as effectively as possible, as the midwives currently based in the MLU will be expanded into an integrated community midwifery team.

“This will lead to improved continuity of care for women and their families throughout pregnancy, labour and the postnatal period and ensure that midwives’ time is fully utilised and matched with women’s needs.”

“Any women booked for Midwifery Led Care are continually risk assessed during their pregnancy and follow the All Wales Midwifery Led Care Guidelines and Pathways.

“The proposed model of care is well established throughout the UK both in rural and urban areas.

“Individual pathways of care are discussed with women during their pregnancy and issues such as geographical location, drive times and communications access are all considered.”

Speaking in March when rumours of the changes first started circulating, Local Assembly Member Paul Davies has responded furiously to reports that yet again Withybush Hospital will see services reduced.
He said: “If this is true then this is just another example of services at Withybush Hospital being downgraded.

“It will be yet another blow to the people of Pembrokeshire who have consistently opposed services being eroded at Withybush Hospital.

“If this takes place then it will put children’s and mothers’ lives at risk which is scandalous. The Hywel Dda University Health Board need to think again about any suggestion that services will be reduced at Withybush Hospital.

“In addition, the Welsh Government, who are ultimately responsible for health services in Wales, need to start standing up for the people of Pembrokeshire because they cannot continue to sit idly by as services continue to disappear from our hospital.”

Also, back in March, Keith Jones at the Health Board said: “Withybush Hospital Midwife Led Unit is open 24/7 and we have absolutely no plans to reduce the opening hours of this important service to the local population.

“We have been discussing the options to improve the efficiency of our staffing model by achieving a greater integration of our community-based midwives and staff based in the Midwife Led Unit.

“This will not reduce patient access to the Midwife Led Unit, which will remain open to women in Pembrokeshire 24/7.”

Stephen Crabb MP said: “Local people will be deeply dismayed by this latest development. Every appeal that has been made to Ministers at the Assembly to protect services in Pembrokeshire have come to nothing. Welsh Government in Cardiff has basically washed its hands of this issue and are sitting back while the Health Board does its dirty work of cutting local services.”

Speaking on Tuesday, Paul Davies Assembly Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire said – “Yet again the Hywel Dda University Health Board are planning to reduce services at Withybush Hospital. To suggest that changing from a 24/7 staffed unit to an on-call system overnight will give a better service is quite frankly beyond belief.

“Do the Health Board think the people of Pembrokeshire are stupid?

“An expectant mother does not want the worry of having to ring a midwife who then has to travel to Withybush Hospital if her baby is being born at night.

“40,000 people signed a petition against previous unwanted changes being proposed by the Health Board. They totally ignored this and are ploughing on with their plans to reduce Withybush Hospital to a Community Hospital against the will of the people of Pembrokeshire.”

The health board’s current proposals are simply the latest in a long string of attempts to continuously remove services at Withybush Hospital in recent years, and, to be perfectly frank, the local people are sick and tired of having to fight to maintain essential services at their local hospital.”