Walsall Manor Hospital birthing cap to be reviewed
A cap on the number of births at Walsall Manor Hospital is to be reviewed amid falling maternity standards.
The number of births was limited to 4,200 babies in 2016/17 - from 4,900 - on the back of a damning inspection from the Care Quality Commission.
It subsequently relieved pressure on the maternity department which reflected in a midwife to birth ratio of 1:22 in February - comfortably within the national recommendation of 1:28.
But in March that standard slipped back to 1:28 while only 74 per cent of shifts were 'appropriately staffed' when the requirement is 100 per cent.
The birthing cap is now being reviewed according to a Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust performance report which states: "The trust agreed to cap births during 2016/17 however the current method of birth number management is restricted to bookings for a defined group of GP surgeries only.
"A proposal has been developed to review the ongoing management of this process as the number of births each month is relatively unpredictable and the numbers will fluctuate each month."
