Causeway doctor warns closing births at hospital is 'not safe' for mums and babies

For the first time, a doctor working in the maternity ward at the Causeway Hospital has spoken out against a decision to move births from Coleraine to Antrim.

Hamida Samim believes the decision taken by the Northern Trust is "not safe" for mums and babies, given the extra journey time to Antrim Area Hospital.

Speaking exclusively to UTV, Dr Samim said: "There are many cases that when they come to the hospital, straight away it is an emergency case and we take them to theatre and we don't have much time to save the baby or save the mum.

"I don't think it is safe for the mum or the baby to transfer there because we know that labour is an emergency, everybody knows that. Labour doesn't know the time, it can come any time.

"So they can deliver in the car, they can have PPH, we call it postpartum haemorrhage, and if they bleed for that time it is too risky. The mum can die easily after bleeding."

UTV can reveal that in 2022, 10% of mums who gave birth at Causeway Hospital were originally scheduled to deliver at Antrim Area.

Figures from the Northern Trust also show the same trend for the first quarter of 2023.

Seventeen out of 171 Causeway mums were meant to give birth at Antrim, equating to around one mum every week.

Dr David Morgan, who is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Antrim Area, as well as the clinical director of the Northern Trust, told UTV the numbers do not mean Antrim is too busy.

He said: "We have two maternity units. One tends to be busier than the other and on occasion we'll offer women the opportunity if they are of a suitable risk profile to change their induction from Antrim to Causeway, if Causeway are quiet and activity levels are low.

"So it's not a reflection of Antrim being too busy, it's just managing our workload and trying to offer women the best experience possible."

The figures also reveal that if Causeway closes, Antrim Area would need to take on an extra 30% of mums.

Dr Morgan said he's confident Antrim can cope with the extra load.

"We're confident that we can provide a better service and a safer service with the appropriate workforce and resource available to provide everything that's needed in the event of an emergency. As a team we don't have any concerns about that."

The decision was taken to move births from Coleraine to Antrim in March after a 14-week public consultation, which involved senior clinicians at both Antrim Area and Causeway Hospital.

The reasons cited included a falling birth rate in the area, "workforce challenges" and that there is no neonatal unit at Causeway.

Due to having no Health Minister, sign-off for this type of ward closure would fall onto the shoulders of the permanent secretary of the Department of Health.

As for a timeline, no one knows when or indeed if this will happen.

In a statement, the Department of Health said: "The Department is working closely with the Northern Trust regarding the future of maternity services at Causeway Hospital.

"The Department is currently considering a recommendation received from the Trust, and notes the concerns expressed by the local community."

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