Changes to maternity services in Trowbridge and Chippenham

The changes, which were agreed by Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group at an extraordinary public meeting today, (Thursday 30 April), are in reaction to the Covid pandemic and the increase in the number of women choosing to have their baby at home.

The birthing unit at Trowbridge will now remain open until Monday 1 June, instead of closing at the beginning of May.

Postnatal beds at Chippenham Birthing Centre will close on Monday 4 May. Chippenham had been expected to remain open until the spring of 2021.

Postnatal support will still be available through online video calls or, where required, face-to-face appointments. Elsewhere, Chippenham will adopt an overnight open-on-demand system. This means the units will no longer be fully staffed throughout the night and will instead only open when midwives are needed to support a birth, which is the model currently used at the birthing centre in Trowbridge.

The CCG will monitor the impact of the changes to the postnatal beds at Chippenham, as well as the new overnight staffing arrangements at Chippenham, over the coming weeks and a report will be presented to the Governing Body at its meeting in July. Any families who are concerned about coronavirus, or the impact that these changes may have on their birthing plans, are encouraged to speak to their midwife.

Papers from the Governing Body meeting are available at www.bswccg.nhs.uk