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NHS decision makers see strength of maternity concerns
16/07/2024
The CEO of the local Integrated Care Board says he will meet with Keep The Horton General
Campaigners demanding the return of full obstetrics to the Horton General Hospital demonstrated outside Cherwell District Council’s offices this morning, where the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (ICB) were meeting.
The ICB are the decision makers as to where money is spent within the NHS in our area.
Local mothers and the Keep The Horton General Group want a reversal of the decision to downgrade the maternity service at the Horton General Hospital to a midwifery led service.
They say lives are being put at risk with mothers being forced to travel to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford when they need a doctor – often in an emergency situation. The increased number of births the JR is having to deal with is putting mum’s and babies at risk not just in Banbury, but across the county.
The issue was highlighted in a birth trauma dossier which was released three weeks ago.
Andrea Ellis was one of the people demonstrating this morning. She said: “None of us women should have to go through the trauma that we have been through. I myself nearly died because we had no doctor at the Horton to deal with my miscarriage. The JR is too far.”
Keith Strangwood from the Keep The Horton General Group says that the longer it is left the more costly it will be to bring a full maternity service back to Banbury. This is why the Integrated Care Board need to act now.
Mr Strangwood said: “The building has been decimated – it’s been left to fall apart. Mind you, its been falling apart for a long time due to a lack of investment. We have to have a long-term plan.
“At the end of the day it’s about money. All this is about money, centralised services to save money [despite] the consequences.”
Beth Hopper was one of the people who helped put together the dossier having had her own first-hand devastating experiences of the Oxford University Hospitals Trust’s maternity service.
She said: “Mothers are experiencing problems in getting to the John Radcliffe to give birth, and many are reporting PTSD following the poor care at the John Radcliffe – because they cannot cope with all the excess births coming from Banbury.”
Andrea Ellis believes the current situation is leading some young couples to the decision of not having a child. She said: “People are definitely more wary about having children because you don’t know what’s going to happen. No young married couple should ever have to think they don’t want to have a baby because they don’t know if it’s safe to give birth, or if you’ll give birth on the side of the road, or your baby will die.”
Ahead of today’s meeting a number of points were submitted to the ICB in writing by local campaigners. Roseanne Edwards, on behalf of the Banbury Guardian, wrote: “Seeking approval for funding and future planning for growth can take several years which is why it is vital this is not delayed.
“In 2017, the then-Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group pledged to review the case for obstetrics to the Horton if population growth of the Banbury catchment demanded it.
“It is incumbent on the ICB to put real pressure on NHS England, the Department of Health and Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology to increase training places to ensure sufficient medical staffing is available in the near future.
“Childbirth is a constant requirement throughout the NHS. It is not an illness or something that can be reduced through strategy. And childbirth should not be routinely traumatic.”
Ms Edwards pointed to the growing population in our area. The Banbury Guardian estimates that ‘Banburyshire’ will have a population estimated at 405,287 – and that’s before Labour’s house-building increases – with a population in Oxfordshire of 950,000.
She wrote: “The JR is not going to have anywhere near the necessary capacity for childbirth needs for a population of 950,000.
“The JR – as the Birth Trauma Dossier shows – is suffering terrible stress and overwhelm in inadequate facilities. The situation can only get worse as staff are demoralised, exhausted and stretched to the point where some are leaving the service.
“The argument for a full, consultant led obstetric and gynae service in Banbury is irrefutable on the basis of the projected figures.”
Inside the meeting Nick Broughton – the Interim CEO of the Integrated Care Board – acknowledged receipt of the letters but said they were unable to respond due to a lack of time, but would issue a written response.
He added that the board had seen the birth trauma dossier: “I want to say how sorry we were to hear of the poor experiences of care described in the dossier. Oxford University Hospitals have commenced a process of reviewing the 50 cases referenced in the dossier.
“Moving forwards, I would very much welcome the opportunity to meet with members of Keep the Horton General Hospital to discuss their questions.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam