NHS staff crisis puts child safety at risk, says report

Midwives at St John's have expressed concern about the neonatal unit. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

A secret report into children's wards at several Scottish hospitals has uncovered an NHS staffing crisis which has raised serious patient safety issues including concerns about the treatment of premature babies.

Overworked staff, cancelled appointments, insufficient medical cover and plummeting morale are identified in the draft document compiled by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

The Royal College was commissioned to carry out the investigation in response to a staff shortage which led to the temporary closure of the children’s ward at St John’s Hospital, Livingston.

The independent expert review, which also examines the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh, and Edinburgh Royal Infirmary is due to be presented to NHS Lothian later this month.

Scotland on Sunday, however, has been sent anonymously a “confidential draft” of the report, which lays bare the challenges hospitals face.

The 79-page document outlines the anxieties of midwives working at St John’s neonatal unit about the resuscitation of babies treated there.

“The review team heard mixed reports about clinical safety concerns on the St John’s neonatal unit particularly relating to resuscitation and consultants ‘acting down’ on the out of hours rota,” the report says.

“Midwives reported that they felt they were sometimes leading the resuscitation rather than supporting it and nurses believed that practice in the neonatal unit is variable due to a lack of confidence in some medical staff.”

Concerns about resuscitation had also been raised at monthly paediatric meetings at St John’s, where a number of “incidents” relating to the life-saving practice had been mentioned before the Royal College specialists began their investigation into the hospitals last year.

“These were reportedly attributed to inadequate training and maintenance of competencies compounded by overworked staff with minimal back-up,” the report says.

Despite the midwives’ concerns, the document reveals that St John’s medical team felt there were “no safety issues” and were “confident” nurses could “handle a 23-week infant” until further expertise arrived.