Dr Karen Davies has stepped down as medical director of Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (RDUH) in protest over the temporary closure of the maternity wing at Barnstaple hospital.
Davies said she could not "support the way the trust has handled, and is handling, the maternity situation" at the north Devon hospital. The trust suspended births on August 11 due to staffing issues, meaning many women will now have to travel 90 minutes to Exeter in the south of the county to give birth.
Resignation letter details concerns
In her resignation letter, Davies continued: "We have known for several years that there have been concerns about fragility, as well as safety and culture, in the northern maternity unit."
The trust's chief medical officer, Vanessa Purday, responded: "The decision to temporarily suspend birthing services was reached through established clinical, executive and system governance processes when safe staffing could no longer be assured."
Trust CEO comments on suspension
Sam Higginson, the trust's chief executive, said about 20 babies had been successfully born at Exeter since the closure. He said he wanted the suspension to be short and added the trust needed to "be creative" with its recruitment strategy to promote north Devon as a great place to live in order to help fill vacancies.
When asked when the suspension would be lifted, he told BBC Radio Devon: "We haven't committed to a specific date yet. We're trying to get it reopened as quickly as we can. It is totally dependent on us being able to attract both permanent and temporary staff."
Public protest and patient impact
On Saturday, hundreds took to the streets of Barnstaple to protest the closure of the unit, where 1,200 babies are born each year. Rebekah Hester, from nearby Ilfracombe, is classed as high-risk due to having pre-eclampsia, a complex condition that causes high blood pressure and can put both baby and mother at risk. She said she was looking at tutorials on giving birth and home deliveries.
Ms Hester said coming to the realisation of having a birth that may not be as planned was "terrifying", adding: "You turn to midwives and you turn to Google, and Google is saying an hour-and-a-half drive is too far, you need to find a closer maternity unit, or you need to watch these tutorials on giving birth and home deliveries."
Midwifery leaders react
Gill Walton, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, said the organisation was concerned about the impact of the suspension on women and their families. "I'm absolutely sure it has increased their anxiety at this time in their pregnancy," she said. "But we're not surprised by it as there has been a staffing crisis in maternity services all-round the UK where services have been closed and home birth services have been stopped. This is just the tip of the iceberg, really."
Walton said the situation was unusual compared with other cases as it was about not having enough obstetricians — doctors who specialise in pregnancy — rather than low levels of midwives. She said she was aware the trust had to make decisions about delivering safe services. "It's weighing up the balance of risk between not having the right doctors on site and women having to travel to another hospital that does have the right number of doctors. We're keeping a very close eye on it because we would want this situation to be resolved as soon as possible."
