New staff start at Peterborough Maternity Unit to prevent temporary closures

Peterborough City Hospital’s Maternity Ward has taken on 22 new recruits to help keep the ward open this year.

Earlier this year the Peterborough Telegraph reported that a Peterborough mum-to-be was turned away from the Bretton hospital as it was temporarily closed to new arrivals as the unit had reached capacity– eventually giving birth at Leicester Hospital.

At the time, the hospital trust said there were a number of reasons why maternity wards could reach capacity, including bed availability, staffing levels, and high levels of demand. The hospital has also said that they are seeing more women with complex conditions, needing greater care, than ever before.

Now new staff have been recruited, with newly qualified student nurses and experienced midwives from overseas joining the team over the autumn.

Last week it was reported in The Daily Express that Peterborough City Hospital’s maternity unit was closed a total of 40 times from January to October this year.

While the North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust – who run the city hospital – did not confirm the number of times the ward had been closed this year when asked by The Peterborough Telegraph, Jo Bennis, Chief Nurse for North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, said action was being taken – and there had been no closures of the ward this month.

Jo said: “The safety of babies and women is an absolute priority for us. Like other maternity units we have seen an increase in the number of women with complex conditions, which requires a greater

level of care.

“We have taken measures to address our recruitment challenges which have included the appointment of newly qualified student nurses and experienced midwives from overseas, as well as increasing the number of agency/ bank staff.

“We have welcomed a total of 22 new recruits during September and October 2022 and the results of an improvement in staff has seen no closures since 2 November 2022.”

At the last CQC inspection in December 2019, maternity services at Peterborough City Hospital were rated as requiring improvement.