No change to Worthing Hospital maternity service
University Hospitals Sussex said (18th July 2024):
Worthing midwives are reassuring mums-to-be that they can have their babies at the town’s hospital as planned.
There will be no changes to maternity service at Worthing Hospital.
Worthing Hospital has been affected by a national shortage of midwives and neonatal nurses, which has left it with higher vacancy rates than usual.
An increase in sickness and other absence over the summer months meant the Trust needed to review and ensure enough specialist staff were available to keep maternity services safe during this period.
Maternity colleagues have been working hard to address this and are now confident the hospital will have the right number of experienced staff in these key roles at all times.
Providing safe care is everyone’s priority at University Hospitals Sussex.
Removing maternity services permanently was never under consideration and the possibility of a temporary suspension has been avoided thanks to the commitment of the hospital’s neonatal and midwifery teams.
Claire Hunt, Worthing Hospital’s Director of Nursing for Children and Gynaecology, said:
“Providing the best and safest possible care for mums and babies is always our priority.
“Thanks to our neonatal and maternity colleagues’ willingness to go the extra mile for the people they care for, all our families can be reassured that they will be able to have their babies at Worthing over the coming months and that we will look after them as we normally would.”
Staff at University Hospitals Sussex have been responding to the national shortage of midwives and neonatal nurses with new initiatives to recruit more people into these key roles.
Over the last two years, the Trust has helped a number of colleagues gain specialist neonatal qualifications, including a further two at Worthing who will qualify by the end of the year. A further 10 midwives will also start at the hospital when they complete their training in October.
University Hospitals Sussex maternity services as a whole have significantly improved their quality and safety standards over the last two years and receive levels of positive feedback above the national average.
All our hospitals are continuing to train and recruit midwives so get in touch if you would like one of the most rewarding careers in the NHS.
