Move to halt plans for ‘baby factories’ welcomed by midwives

Before the general election the Conservatives opposed the closure of smaller obstetric units, which result in more births in other larger units nearby, and said they were leading to “bigger and bigger baby factories”.

Health secretary Andrew Lansley has now ordered a review of plans to close a unit at Fairfield General Hospital in Bury. He has also ordered a review of planned changes to hospitals in London, which include closing the maternity unit at King George’s Hospital, part of Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust.

Mr Lansley has said all service change should “take into account the need to develop and support patient choice”.

Royal College of Midwives policy director Sean O’Sullivan said Mr Lansley’s words appeared to favour more smaller units. “It is hard to demonstrate that moving services to fewer sites offers women more choice rather than less,” he said.

However, he warned centralisation proposals might return, saying that those who had planned them had argued they were clinically justified and necessary.

Mr O’Sullivan said for simple births, small units provided better care and experience.

He said: “For women at low risk, in smaller units, there is less chance they are going to receive inappropriate highly medicalised care. They are also better for recruitment and retention of midwives.”

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