Downgrading of Darlington Memorial and Durham maternity wards

The reports are extremely difficult to read as they highlight staff shortages, lack of training, lack of equipment and lack of openness. Managers who are often criticized must have struggled reading these texts.

A paragraph about the memorial said: “Midwives had communicated their concerns to managers over the last 12 months, saying they believed the ward was unsafe. However, the staff informed us that nothing had changed. Staff told us that they regularly missed breaks, worked long hours and did overtime (both paid and unpaid), and that midwife sickness rates were very high due to increased pressure on staff due to staff shortages.”

There are national issues with a shortage of midwives and resources and the paragraph above fits a national picture that has emerged following recent tragedies of NHS managers failing to address the concerns of their staff.

Inspectors are the eyes and ears of local people and have spoken out on their behalf to ensure that the maternity service in our local hospitals is unacceptable. However, they have not explained how both hospitals came to fall two levels behind so quickly and who or what is responsible – is it local failings or is the NHS simply running out of people and money nationally? Surely someone should be responsible for what went wrong?

Managers assure us that changes were made quickly and the units are safe. But local people, who have a deep and lifelong connection with their own hospital, will not be satisfied until inspectors return in December and find that the improvements have actually been made.

READ THE FULL STORY: CONFUSING REPORTS SAY TREES ARE NOT ALLOWED IN IMPORTANT STATIONS

READ MORE: MANAGERS ASSURE LOCAL PEOPLE: PLEASE DON’T WORRY