Midwife service set for shake-up

Midwifery services based in Scunthorpe and Goole are set for a shake-up as a health trust tries to shave £350,000 from running costs.

The Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Trust says the services cost 16% more than the one at Grimsby's Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital.

The trust has come up with two options - change the way the service is run or reduce the number of midwifery teams.

A three-month period of consultation on the proposed changes is now under way.

A recent review showed the trust was spending £2.6m per year more on maternity services than the funding it received for providing the services.

Travel costs

Angie Smithson, divisional manager for the Family Services Division which operates the maternity service, said that meant savings had to be found.

One of the options is to focus on more hospital-based care, reduce travel costs and telephone rental by cutting the number of midwives working in the community and redeploying them to the delivery suites.

The second option is to cut the number of midwifery teams covering Scunthorpe and Goole from seven to five. Each team has eight full-time midwives and six assistants.

Both options would result in savings of £350,000 per year.

People have until 11 September to have their say on the proposals, which are outlined in full on the council's website.