Midwife crisis as 3 hospitals turn away pregnant woman

A PREGNANT woman told today how she has been rejected by three hospitals amidst London's growing midwife crisis.

At least three west London hospitals have closed their doors to new admissions until February because of staff shortages, meaning expectant mothers are being forced to travel across the South-East for vital appointments.

Loreto Collao-Sharpe, who is 17 weeks pregnant, said her GP had referred her for her first ultrasound scan to Ealing Hospital, then Queen Charlotte's Hospital in Hammersmith and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. All refused admission. She should have had her first scan after 12 weeks followed by another eight weeks later.

The 29-year-old freelance interpreter, who lives in Ealing, said the strain could have an adverse impact on her pregnancy. "It is very frustrating and has taken a lot of my energy. I should be enjoying the experience of being pregnant. But for the last three weeks I have been fighting the system."

Ms Collao-Sharpe, who had her first child four years ago in her native Chile, said was stunned at NHS inadequacies-"People pay a lot of taxes here and the system should not be like this. In Chile, even if you have no money, you have the right to a proper check-up at the nearest hospital."

Nationwide, the number of midwives has fallen by 25 per cent in the last decade while in London 15 per cent of posts are vacant. The National Childbirth Trust said if midwife numbers continue to drop, it expects complications in pregnancies to increase.

The Ealing Primary Care Trust admitted the midwife shortage was causing a problem, especially with a 15 per cent increase in births in the North West London Strategic Health Authority area. Authority director of public health Professor Yi Mien Koh said the birth rate was projected to keep rising along with vacancies among midwives and obstetricians.

She said: "We are tackling this by recruiting more professionals from abroad and training more midwives."

Ms Collao-Sharpe was given a scan - five weeks late - at Ealing Hospital last week. But she still does not know where the birth will happen.

"The trust indicated it may be at University College Hospital in Euston," she said. "I'd rather not go there because it's so far away from home, but nothing is settled anyway."

(c)2005. Associated Newspapers Ltd.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.