I am a DGH mum myself and know what it is to need urgent consultant intervention.
I wasn’t surprised but still utterly dismayed by the decision made recently to single-site consultant-led maternity and overnight paediatric care in Hastings.The highest authority in the land, back in 2008, when we were faced with exactly this situation, ruled that both the DGH and Conquest Hospitals needed consultant-led care. What has changed since then? Not the slow, winding and unreliable road to Hastings, nor the poor public transport.
After careful consideration, all three governing bodies unanimously agreed that option 6 was the best way to ensure safe and high quality services for local women and children in the long term. This option results in the following configuration of services:
- Birthing services retained at all three current sites
- Consultant-led maternity services provided at the Conquest Hospital, Hastings
- Two midwife-led birthing units provided - at Crowborough and Eastbourne
- Short-stay paediatric assessment units provided at both Eastbourne and Hastings.
- In-patient (overnight) paediatrics, the special care baby unit and emergency gynaecology co-located at the same site as the consultant-led maternity service.
This configuration ensures birthing services will continue to be available at all three current locations. It scored highest in the options appraisal, was identified as one of two preferred models in recommendations from East Sussex Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) and was supported by a majority of public consultation respondents. The decision to co-locate in-patient paediatrics, the special care baby unit and emergency gynaecology services on a single site was supported by local and national clinical evidence in developing the six options and was supported by HOSC.
In a joint statement, the chairs of the three East Sussex CCGs said: “As local clinicians we agree this is the best possible solution to achieving safe and high quality services for women and children in East Sussex.
“These services, particularly maternity, were in urgent need of reform to ensure safe and high quality care now and in the future. We arrived at this decision after careful consideration of all available evidence including extensive public and clinical consultation that has been subject to rigorous scrutiny. We have listened to feedback from the public, HOSC, local clinicians and other stakeholders stating a clear preference in favour of retaining birthing services at all three sites to enable greater choice for local women.
“We fully understand the concerns expressed by some people about the prospect of traveling further to access certain services and know that many people would prefer us to provide consultant-led maternity and inpatient paediatrics over two sites. However we know it is not possible to do this safely in East Sussex and therefore a difficult decision had to be made.
“The evidence from this process is clear and compelling – we are able to provide safer, better services by centring consultant-led maternity and inpatient paediatric care around a single site, whilst ensuring choice and access to a range of services across East Sussex. It is not the case that greater travel distances means a greater risk for local people and this has been clearly demonstrated by previous experience, from what we have learned during the temporary configuration, from national evidence of best practice and from our extensive public and clinical consultation. This is the right solution to ensure safe and high quality services for local women and children in the long term.”
HOSC will meet on 10 July to consider whether the CCGs’ decisions are in the best interest of the local health services.
Further information is available at the Better Beginnings consultation website.
What now, what next? We regroup.