Transformation of Acute Maternity Services

We welcome the decision of the Permanent Secretary to approve the recommendation of the Northern Health and Social Care Trust Board that all hospital births should take place at Antrim Area Hospital.

Operationally, this will come into effect from 17 July 2023 and preparations are now underway to implement that decision.

We strongly believe this is the best outcome for women and babies in our care.

It will allow us to continue providing the highest standard of inpatient maternity care and births at one, dedicated site, with a safer, more sustainable staffing model.

Any women who are due to give birth at Causeway Hospital will be contacted directly by the Trust. We have also set up a helpline to answer any queries from women who are due to give birth at Causeway.

We recognise this has also been an uncertain time for our very dedicated team of maternity staff at Causeway Hospital and we will be supporting them through this period of transition.

Causeway Hospital is a key part of the Trust’s acute hospital network and we remain committed to maintaining acute services and an Emergency Department at the site.

We recognise that the hospital and its staff play a vital role in serving the local community, and we want to enhance rather than diminish that role.

Causeway Hospital will retain its high quality antenatal and postnatal care which we recognise are critical local services for women.

We will also be enhancing these services so that pregnant women will have access to complex antenatal care and clinics at Causeway Hospital.

Background to the decision

A 14-week public consultation seeking views on the transformation of acute maternity services within the Northern Trust area was carried out between November 2022 and March 2023.

Following the consultation, at its public meeting in March 2023, the Board of the Northern Trust approved a recommendation that all hospital births should take place at Antrim Area Hospital.

Clinicians had advised that the provision of maternity services at Causeway Hospital was unsustainable due to falling birth rates, workforce challenges, and the absence of a neonatal unit.

Challenges around sufficient staff cover have become increasingly acute with clinicians expressing their concerns around the fragility of the service and vulnerability of the model.

One of the options included in the public consultation suggested that, while all consultant-led hospital births would be transferred to Antrim Area Hospital, a freestanding midwifery-led unit could also be established at Causeway Hospital. This option will be revisited once the outcome of the Department of Health-led review of midwifery services in Northern Ireland is known.

Related Links

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Northern Trust Maternity Services
Department of Health Media Release: Maternity plan will protect safe and sustainable care

 

8th June 2023