Hospital apology after 18 women were on waiting list for induction of labour

A hospital trust has apologised to women left waiting ‘longer than we hoped’ for inductions and planned Cesarean sections.

The statement comes after it emerged 18 women were on a waiting list to be induced at a hospital run by North Bristol NHS Trust earlier this month.

Yesterday, midwives and mothers held a vigil on College Green in Bristol as part of a nationwide protest over what they claim is a maternity crisis in the NHS.

North Bristol NHS Trust, which runs Southmead Hospital and Cossham Hospital, said it was going through a busy period, and praised staff for their work.

The number of women waiting to be induced at the trust-run hospital emerged when Professor Tim Draycott, from North Bristol NHS Trust, gave expert evidence at an inquest of a baby who died in Portsmouth.

When speaking about the mother of the baby waiting to be induced, he said that nationally there were ‘severe issues’ within maternity services.

He then revealed that at his hospital 18 women were on a waiting list to be induced on November 2, adding ‘these are difficult times’.

Over recent years, the threshold for inductions has lowered, meaning more pregnant women are now induced.

However, draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence that mothers-to-be should be induced at 41 weeks was revised this month.

It now states that a discussion should be had with mothers at that stage on the option.

In response to Prof Draycott’s comments, North Bristol NHS Trust’s women and children’s clinical director, Paul Mannix, apologised to any women ‘waiting longer we hoped’.

He said: “We have had a busy month with an increase in births, but maternity is a service where all units are used to peaks and troughs in demand and this has been within our usual variation.

“Our staff have worked exceptionally hard to provide safe care to the women who have been giving birth with us and we apologise to any women who had to wait longer than we hoped for inductions or planned Caesarean sections during this busy period.”

Due to the ongoing pandemic, the hospital trust says it is having to bring in extra measures for women about to give birth who have tested positive for Covid-19.

It also says it has to balance midwife commitments with planned and emergency Caesarean sections.

But people who took part in the vigil in Bristol yesterday, claimed an underfunding of maternity services was having an impact on care given.

They said it was leading to staff shortages and low morale among midwifes.

In response to the protests across the UK, the Department for Health and Social Care said it planned to hire 1,200 more midwives as part of a £95 million recruitment drive.

Have you been left waiting too long for an induction at a hospital in Bristol? Email us with your story at [email protected]