‘Trailblazing’ community service shuts under financial strain

A midwifery service in east London praised as “pioneering” and “trailblazing” has been closed, after mounting financial pressure forced its provider to stop trading.

Neighbourhood Midwives, a social enterprise, had built up liabilities that exceeded its assets by over £900,000, according to its most recent annual accounts.

The company said in a statement online that it could not keep running “in these times of national economic uncertainty and change in NHS maternity services”.

Its commissioner, Waltham Forest Clinical Commissioning Group, also published a statement online saying “the pioneering midwifery service” had to close because of “significant challenges around coordinating business planning and the commissioning timetable”.

 

Full story on HSJ, 1 Feburary 2019