Experts comment on a recent report by the National Audit Office into the provision of maternity services in England that revealed that the NHS in England is approximately 5000 midwives short of where it needs to be. The report raised serious concerns about the considerable variation between the performance of hospitals in respect of the quality, safety, cost and efficiency of maternity departments.
These are also the findings of the third annual State of Maternity Services Report compiled by the Royal College of Midwives, which states that in 2012, the last year for which there are up to date midwife and birth figures, 694,241 babies were born in England but the number of midwives working in the NHS that year was suitable for only 565,245 births, meaning there were 128,996 more births than the service was designed to cope with.
The CEO of the Royal College of Midwives, Cathy Warwick, states that “the NHS is at the limit of what maternity services can safely deliver.”
Put another way, the NHS is at the limits of being able to deliver babies safely.
Taryn M. chose to have a private obstetrician when she was pregnant with her baby daughter. She explained the benefit in the following way, “I believe that women want a private obstetrician so that they are in the care of one specialist who solely oversees their individual case from beginning to end. This gives a feeling of reassurance, security and wellbeing.”
Speaking of her own experience she added, “I will be eternally grateful to my obstetrician, Dr Ashok Kumar, for his professional demeanour, understanding and kind, thoughtful, calm and gentle manner at all times. I was thoroughly supported throughout every stage of my pregnancy and felt that both myself and my baby were in the safest hands that one could possibly envisage.”
The majority of pregnancies proceed smoothly and most babies are born safe and well but for many women the peace of mind that comes from having a private obstetrician is well worth the investment.
Dr Ashok Kumar provides information for parents-to-be in his authoritative article - here.
