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Save Aboyne Maternity is a growing group of mothers and concerned members of the community from throughout Deeside and Donside. The group formed to fight proposed closure of our wonderful Midwife Led Unit in Aboyne. At present the local Community Health Partnership (CHP) of NHS managers, is currently restricting the service offered in Aboyne, particularly in post-natal care, and are proposing closure of the unit. Groups in Fraserburgh, Peterhead and Banff are fighting similar battles with Insch and Huntly sadly having lost their units already. Organisations such as UNICEF, The Royal College of Midwives and the Scottish Executive all favour decentralised, low-tech care where possible. This enables women to have a more positive birth experience, encourages breast feeding, reduces the need for medical intervention and supports community health in the long term - all while saving the NHS money! According to the National Childbirth Trust: The assumption that major cost savings can be made by closing midwife-led units is not supported by the evidence. Women need one-to-one support in labour wherever they choose to give birth, so staffing costs are not likely to differ between midwife-led units and consultant units. However, births with fewer medical interventions, such as caesarean section cost less than more complex births. Units specialising in normal births, such as midwife-led units, can save the NHS money. The short-term solution of closing midwife-led maternity units in order to fill the gaps in consultant units could lead to long-term disaster. Moving midwives working in midwife-led units specialising in low-risk, normal maternity care to consultant units focusing on delivering high-risk services, undermines the aspects of the job that many midwives value and find rewarding and they often simply leave the NHS completely When community based midwife-led units are closed, women often have to travel miles to hospital to have their babies delivered by unknown, stressed staff which can lead to tension and further complications, including increased intervention. If we want high quality services providing choice for women, which are responsive to their needs - as called for in recent government strategy - we must maintain popular midwife-led units. Living in rural Aberdeenshire, the distance advantage of having a local Maternity Unit is also obvious. There is a risk that the long travel time to Aberdeen - particularly for those from upper Deeside and Strathdon areas - will lead to more women delivering en route to hospital, perhaps with no health professionals present at all. According to the CHP, birth rates in Midwife Led Units are falling across Grampian, however we wish to promote the fact that birth rates in Aboyne are rising despite their protests otherwise.
If you wish to be involved in Save Aboyne Maternity or believe you can help in anyway, please contact us! |
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