Driving an hour in labour would be terrifying, say mums

Travelling for an hour by car while in labour to reach a maternity unit if delivery services at a nearby hospital were closed would be "terrifying" and a "matter of life and death", mothers have said.

The Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group ((NWUHG), which runs James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston-on-Sea and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital is King's Lynn, said it was considering the future of the delivery suites at both sites and possibly moving all births to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

It said both hospitals delivered fewer than 2,000 births a year, which meant some trainee midwives were not able to gain the experience required for assessment.

"If I'd had to go all the way to the Norfolk and Norwich, potentially I would have given birth in the car, we might not have got there," said mother-of-three Gemma Kerridge, 40, who lives in Lowestoft, Suffolk.

It takes about 20 minutes by car to reach the James Paget Hospital from Lowestoft, and the delivery suite at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital is at least one hour's drive away.

Kerridge added: "It's important to have a maternity unit so close to Lowestoft, the Norfolk and Norwich - if you get stuck in traffic - is a long way to go.

"It's that fear. If somebody does have any difficulties or they're worried, that's a very long while to wait or to get help if you need it to go all that way.

"I think that's going to be terrifying for some mums."

Kerridge said the trust should instead look at investing in and improving current services at the James Paget Hospital, which is a view shared by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM).

The RCM said the proposals risked worsening existing inequalities in maternity outcomes and the trust should invest in the services rather than allowing them to "shrink".

Grandmother Angela Rigby said she remembered the worry of getting to the James Paget Hospital from Lowestoft in time when she was in labour.

"I can't imagine how I would have felt if I knew I'd got to have that journey [to Norwich] when we have got a hospital on the doorstep," said the 63-year-old.

Mother-of-two Sandra Harris, 64, who is also a grandmother, said not having a maternity unit close by was "scary", whatever the circumstances.

"You just don't know, in pregnancy, what's going to happen.

"If you've got, say, a first-time mother and husband and he's driving, she's in the back, terrified, driving up the Acle Straight. That's going to be traumatic for both of them.

"If they've got complications, it could mean life or death," she said.

Harris addded: "I know that my daughter will be very scared about having [another] child, and if she thinks she's got to travel that far. I think she might really worry."

Both grandmothers said the trust should focus on improving the current facilities and training midwives at the James Paget Hospital.

"Is the Norfolk and Norwich going to be able to cope [with demand] if this goes ahead?" asked Rigby.

"Surely the ambulances will get involved, taking people who are in labour. I can't see where that would be beneficial for anybody who's closer to James Paget. Nobody is going to be happy with it," she added.

NWUHG has set out its proposal on how maternity services could be delivered in future in the area, but stressed that no decisions had been made and no consultation had begun.

The Department of Health and Social Care said any move to concentrate services at one or two sites would be based on providing safer care for women and babies.

Do you have a story suggestion for Norfolk or Suffolk? Contact us below.

Follow East of England news on X, Instagram and Facebook: BBC Norfolk or BBC Suffolk.