Midwife shortage at Yorkshire hospital shuts birth centre

The Friarwood Birth Centre at Pontefract General Infirmary, in west Yorkshire, will shut until October next year. A statement from Martin Barkley, chief executive of the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Despite having been delighted to recruit 15 midwives from the cohort of newly qualified midwives that join the NHS at this time every year, it has not been enough to ensure we have an adequate number of midwives across three midwife-led units and our obstetric service based at Pinderfields Hospital.

Full story in the Evening Standard, 30 October 2019