The closure of the midwife led unit at Altnagelvin is down to a shortage of staff, the Western Trust has said
Altnagelvin Hospital's midwife led unit has been closed due to short staffing, the Western Trust has said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Western Trust said: "Unfortunately the Midwife Led Unit at Altnagelvin Hospital is currently not open due to shortages of midwives. There is a shortage of midwives regionally and the Trust has increased the number of midwives in training in an attempt to improve the recruitment of staff.
A two month review of the transition from Causeway to Antrim was announced by the Northern Trust after a meeting between campaigners and the civil servant tasked with leading the Department of Health, permanent secretary Peter May, in August. "You have increasing pressure because of the closure of Causeway and now they are removing the midwifery led unit at Altnagelvin. I'm worried about what this is ultimately going to look like."
"The issue there is that 80-90% of births are, by and large, trouble free and those mothers can avail of whatever maternity unit - and that's the way it should be. But there is a small number where there are complications, whether it's caesarian sections or other complications, and there needs to be sufficient staff there to ensure safe delivery for both mother and child.
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