Wycombe midwife led birth unit to close temporarily from 1 August

30 July 2010

Wycombe Birth Centre will close temporarily for a period of three months from 1 August 2010. During this time, the service will move to the Aylesbury Birth Centre, Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

The decision to temporarily close the unit was made by clinical leaders at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust due to extreme staff shortages identified over the summer period.

Audrey Warren, acting head of midwifery said, “After looking at a number of options, it was agreed that the safest and least disruptive way to ensure we continue to deliver high quality care to our patients was to temporarily close the Wycombe birth centre. Our community midwives in the Wycombe area have spoken to the six families affected by the closure and continue to discuss the options with expectant mothers who are due to give birth over this period. We can still offer them a midwife led service at the Aylesbury birth centre and our home birth service will also continue”.

Whilst the centre is closed, expectant mums are advised not to go to Wycombe Hospital if they are in labour and to call the Aylesbury labour ward at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. As always, in an emergency, an ambulance should be called by dialling 999.

The birth centre at Wycombe is planned to reopen in November 2010 at the latest when an additional 17 midwives will have joined the Trust.

Audrey added, “We are fully committed to reopening the Wycombe Birth Centre and are looking at ways to attract more expectant mothers. The centre is an excellent facility for women who are planning a natural birth and want an environment that resembles the home as much as possible, but with the reassurance that they are in a healthcare setting with expert midwives on hand to help deliver their baby”.

People can access the latest news on the Wycombe birth centre by visiting our website at www.buckinghamshirehospitals.nhs.uk.

Notes to editors:

• Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust provide a wide range of high quality acute and community services from three acute hospital sites in Amersham, Stoke Mandeville and Wycombe, five community hospitals at Thame, Marlow, Buckingham, Chalfonts and Gerrards Cross and Waterside, and a number of community sites across the county. Details of these can be found here: http://www.buckinghamshirehospitals.nhs.uk/community-health-services.htm
• Specialist services include our regional dermatology, allergy and skin cancer centre, burns care and plastics sub-regional centre, cardiac services and the National Spinal Injuries Centre
• More than 6,000 staff serve residents across Buckinghamshire, Thame (Oxfordshire), Tring (Hertfordshire) and Leighton Buzzard (Bedfordshire) - a combined population of 500,000. It serves a much larger population, 1.5m, for burns and plastic services and 14m for spinal injuries
• On 1 April 2010 Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust became the new partner to Community Health Buckinghamshire

For further information, contact the communications team on 01494 734959 or at communications@buckshosp.nhs.uk.