Two maternity units to recruit 68 extra midwives

Midwifery staffing at two hospitals is to increase after their maternity services were rated as inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Inspections at Bedford Hospital and Luton and Dunstable Hospital (L&D) in June and July last year found services were in breach of regulations concerning staffing and safe care and treatment.

In September, more follow-up inspections were carried out, but maternity services at both hospitals were again rated inadequate overall.

Liz Lees, chief nurse at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said they were now recruiting 68 extra full-time midwives as part of a "workforce plan [that] is likely to take 18 months to two years to fully implement".

Demand for maternity services at the two hospitals constantly outstrips capacity.

At a meeting of the Luton Borough Council scrutiny health and social care review group, Lees was asked what would happen before the increased recruitment.

She said: "We will use temporary staff with our cohort of midwives that do bank [shifts], and we have got some agency staff as well."

David Carter, trust chief executive, told the committee that improvements had been made since the inspections last summer.

"There were several issues about our estate, but that was before many of these were resolved when we moved into the new acute services block in November," he said.

"We need to ensure we can keep our unit safe, and release our staff for appraisal, training and incident clearance."

At Bedford Hospital, a dedicated telephone triage midwife, a new "mini switchboard" phone triage service and a private triage area have been introduced to improve access, privacy and dignity.

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