WELSH GOVERNMENT TO BLAME FOR CRISIS IN NORTH WALES MATERNITY CARE

Posted on 11th February, 2015

Clwyd West MP, David Jones, says that the decision to suspend consultant-led maternity care at Glan Clwyd hospital is yet another example of the decline of the health service in Wales under the Labour Welsh Government.

Yesterday, the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board decided that the maternity unit at Glan Clwyd will be midwife-led for eighteen months from April. In complicated cases, expectant mothers will be obliged to travel to Maelor hospital in Wrexham or Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor.

David Jones said:

“The Health Board’s proposals are unacceptable and will inevitably increase risk to mothers and babies.

“However, the fact that the Board is unable to recruit senior medical staff is an indictment of the Labour Welsh Government’s management of the health service in Wales.

“Whilst midwives in Glan Clwyd are dedicated and highly qualified, there will inevitably be occasions when consultant care will be required. It is unfair on midwives to expect them to deal with every eventuality without specialist aid.

“The Welsh Government should now make every effort to improve recruitment by making Wales a more attractive place for senior medical staff to work. That calls for a root and branch reorganisation of the Welsh health service, which should be done as a matter of urgency.”

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