Maternity change hailed as success (From Barry And District News)

Maternity change hailed as success

THE HEAD of the health watchdog for the Vale of Glamorgan has said the transition to midwifery-led services at Llandough Hospital has been a success.

Controversial changes to maternity services in the Vale of Glamorgan last year saw all consultancy-led provision switched to the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff.

Now only midwifery services are available at Llandough Hospital.

Gordon Harrop, chief executive of the Vale of Glamorgan Community Health Council, said: We requested a report on the change to midwifery-led services only, and were very pleased with the findings.

More women than projected have given birth at the new Llandough unit over the past six months.

It was projected that there would be 27 births a month at the unit.

The actual figure at 32 has exceeded that significantly.

Mr Harrop said: We are very pleased that so many women have opted to use the unit.

We believe the reputation of the services at Llandough will be enhanced by word of mouth and will soon become an increasingly popular choice.

Giving birth should be a pleasant experience and the homely surroundings provided at Llandough reflect this.

Pregnancy is not an illness and the presence of face-mask clad doctors can be intimidating.

I also believe safety is improved under the new system for women who experience problems through pregnancy, because they now get the full attention of consultants.

We will, however, be requesting a further report for the next six months to monitor whether progress is maintained.