Too few midwives, Too many risks

The numbers:

• £1bn+ paid out by the NHS in compensation for maternity-related claims since 2001
• 23% of pregnant women have Caesareans each year
• 15% limit on Caesareans recommended by the World Health Organisation
• 24% of birth units without proper medical support
• 722,500 births in 2005
• 17,000+ women harmed in maternity safety incidents since November 2003
• 391 women died during, or shortly after, childbirth between 2000 and 2002
• 48% of women have a normal birth
• 63% of babies are delivered by midwives each year
• 7,000+ maternity-related compensation claims since 1995
• 10,000 too few registered midwives
• 18,949 full-time equivalent midwives
• 13 women die for every 100,000 births
• 200% rise in elective Caesareans since 1980
• 50% increase in emergency Caesareans in the past decade
• £1.8bn spent on maternity services in 2006
• £37.7m savings if Caesarean rate fell below 20 per cent
• 1 in 4 chance that a pregnancy will end in miscarriage
• 1 in 200 chance that a baby will be stillborn
• 3,500 babies stillborn in the UK each year
• 70% of stillbirths that remain a mystery
• 159,642 Caesareans carried out in the UK each year

The UK now has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Europe, with 13 deaths per 100,000.

As the Blessed Hewitt said

"It was the best year from the patients' point of view. More people were treated, faster than ever before and more lives were saved than ever before.
Of course it has been a difficult year for staff, as we have had to sort out the large over-spend. But it is now clear we are absolutely back on track to get the NHS into financial balance by the end of the year."

I have one word for you Ms Hewitt - Bollocks.

Independent Online Edition > Health Medical