Maternity unit refutes suggestion it breached safety standards

The trust at the centre of a maternity scandal insists it has been providing immediate anaesthetic cover for obstetric emergencies, contrary to an NHS England report suggesting it had not and had been potentially breaching safety standards.

Health Education England – now part of NHSE – visited William Harvey Hospital in March and was told senior doctors in training who were covering obstetrics could also be covering the cath lab – which deals with patients who have had a heart attack, and could receive trauma, paediatric emergency and cardiac arrest calls. This suggested the trust was in conflict with Royal College guidelines which state an anaesthetist should always be “immediately available” for obstetrics. 

East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, originally told HSJ its rota had very recently been changed and that an anaesthetist with primary responsibility for maternity could leave any other work to attend to a maternity emergency immediately. However, it has since said it has been the case for a long time that an anaesthetist is available to return to maternity in case of an emergency. 

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Source: HSJ, 17 June 2023