Good morning. Over the summer, doctors in the emergency department at the North Devon district hospital in Barnstaple, one of the most remote in the UK, received a crash course on delivering a baby. Their training covered subjects nobody wants to hear about when they’re imminently expecting: shoulder dystocia, postpartum haemorrhage, and neonatal collapse. “I’m hoping that we won’t see such emergencies,” one doctor said. “It’s been an intense time.”
That crash course was necessary because maternity services at the hospital have been indefinitely suspended due to staff shortages. Other remote hospitals across the country are expected to do the same, as NHS trusts struggle to recruit enough staff to safely deliver babies. Earlier this week, the Guardian reported that up to 20 maternity units in England could shut. The story sheds light on a maternity care crisis that has been rumbling on for years, and shows how childbirth has changed dramatically over the last decade.
