Enhanced 24 Hour Home Births Service resumes at Nottingham University Hospitals
Mothers to be in Nottingham can benefit from a 24-hour Home Birth Service following a decision to resume and enhance the service at Nottingham University Hospitals after a temporary suspension to review the home birth offer.
The introduction of a 24-hour service meets a commitment made in 2023 to a sustainable 24-hour homebirth service which meets the needs of local birthing people and their families following a listening exercise with service users.
An initial suspension of the service was agreed in January whilst a review was carried out into how the service was staffed and supported, taking into consideration the changing patterns locally and nationally to develop a model that is sustainable and offers clarity to both patients and staff.
A decision has now been taken to resume with a new model with effect from Wednesday 27 March 2024.
Sharon Wallis, Director of Midwifery at NUH said: “We have always been committed to a full home birth service as we know it is the right thing to do for our mums to be, however we also have a responsibility to ensure any service can be safely staffed and sustainable. I want to thank local birthing people and their families for their patience while we have put plans in place, and am really pleased that we have been able to now offer a 24-hour service for those individuals that meet the criteria for a home birth.
“Our Home Birth team lead joined the Trust in January and we continue to recruit to a full team, and in the interim I am grateful to colleagues from our community and hospitals teams who have committed to additional shifts to enable us to offer the service now.”
If you want any further information, please talk to your midwife or consultant obstetrician.