Midwives join call to boost maternity care

Concern is growing over the shocking state of London's cash-starved maternity services.

A midwife has detailed serious deficiencies in care at one of the capital's leading hospitals. She came forward, as did many other women, after Christina Odone wrote in the Standard about her dismal experience of giving birth at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

The women describe understaffed units across London, where some staff can be rude and hygiene poor. They praise care up to and during the birth, but claim underinvestment is having a devastating effect on post-natal care.

The midwife, who is based at Chelsea and Westminster but cannot be named for fear of losing her job, identified:

She said: "Sadly, post-natal care is the Cinderella service of maternity care. Midwives want to provide first-class care, but work in a culture of cutbacks, rationalisation and despondency. I am constantly frustrated by the culture of crisis management rather than positive long-term investment in the NHS."

While the number of midwives in Britain rose by about 250 last year, the Royal College of Midwives claims there are still 5,000 fewer than a decade ago.

Midwifery courses are oversubscribed, but many students drop out because of financial difficulties and the gruelling working hours - around 46 a week - they must put in to qualify.

Commenting on the intense pressure of her work, the Chelsea and Westminster mid-wife said: "Our midwifery team should number five, but often we have two or three. As a consequence we work an average two hours' unpaid overtime a day and are constantly on call."

She claims vital equipment, such as sonic aids to monitor a baby's heartbeat, is outdated: "When I reported that my trust-issued sonic aid was on its last legs I was offered the opportunity to buy my own."

Women who gave birth at Chelsea and Westminster backed her claims. Adele Kilby, 35, said: "The postop aftercare was actually cruel. When I waddled up to the nurses' station in tears, with a crying baby, and asked if I could sit with them, I was told "no" and left to go back sobbing."

Other hospitals that new mothers complain about include Queen Charlotte's, Guy's and St Thomas', and St Mary's. Hundreds of women in London are now paying up to £4,000 for private midwives. A spokesman for the Royal College of Midwives said: "Some units are so short-staffed midwives deal with two or more women in labour at once."

Last year, midwives received a 3.6 per cent pay rise, and a 50 per cent increase in on-call payments.

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital - where more than 4,000 babies a year are born - said it had spent £3.8 million modernising maternity services, and had renewed equipment.

The Government recently gave it high marks for cleanliness. Chief Executive Heather Lawrence said: "We recognise the concerns and are taking urgent action to address them."