Examination of Witnesses (Questions 440-449)
TUESDAY 25 MARCH 2003
PROFESSOR JAMES
WALKER, MRS
ANN GEDDES,
MS CAROL
BURNS, MS
KAREN FOX,
MS GILL
SMETHURST AND
MS PHILIPPA
MCENROE
440. In the statement we have got, it says "transfer
to a consultant unit is undertaken by a paramedic ambulance, based
on site". Is there an ambulance sitting there all the time?
(Ms Smethurst) That is from Goole Hospital. The ambulance
site is at Goole Hospital from the Home from Home Unit, but not
for home births, no.
441. But there is one that you can get at easily.
(Ms Smethurst) For home births?
442. No, to transfer to a consultant unit.
(Ms Smethurst) Yes. The ambulance station is on site.
443. You have never had problems transferring.
(Ms Smethurst) No.
Chairman
444. Before we move on to training, you encourage
alternative birthing positions et cetera, using the birthing
pool. What would you say to those units that let women labour
in their birthing pool but when it gets to the final stages they
have to get out to give birth, which is happening in some units
in the country?
(Ms Smethurst) I would just ask them why.
445. They say because they have not got the
skills.
(Ms Fox) They should develop the skills. We did; we
all started from the same level, so they should develop them the
same. I think Leeds would agree with that.
(Mrs Geddes) Definitely.
Dr Taylor
446. Is training multi-disciplinary? How is
it organised in Leeds and in Goole?
(Professor Walker) Although we have tried to move
towards multi-disciplinary training, we have not really managed
that to the extent that we would like to for various reasons.
It is partly because medical students but also junior doctors
have to train in a wider range of things than just obstetrics
alone. We try and have as many combined postgraduate meetings
as we can, but we have not achieved a great deal of joint training
or communal training, although we have tried that. It is separate
at the moment.
447. But postgraduate training can be combined.
(Professor Walker) Yes, we have postgraduate meetings
with the midwives and junior doctors and other doctors. The main
problem with that is getting release of the midwives, in the same
way that we have now managed to get the release of the doctor.
That has been legislated for in relation to doctors, but not for
the midwives, and so they have less ability to get to them.
448. How about at Goole? Where do you go for
updating your training? What do you at Goole, and where do you
go for the rest of it?
(Ms Fox) There are three sites of the Trust, because
it now covers Goole, Scunthorpe and Grimsby; so there are training
days organised across all three sites. You can apply to attend
any one you feel you want to attend. There are mandatory training
days for things like emergency obstetric procedures and CGT training.
Then we organise that in Goole, so instead of seven of us going
on a training day in Scunthorpe, there will be one person from
Scunthorpe coming to Goole to do the training. It is much more
cost-effective.
449. When you get to these bigger units for
the training, is that multi-disciplinary? Will there be medical
staff as well?
(Ms Fox) Not usually. Usually, it is just midwifery
staff.
Chairman: Thank you all very much for coming;
you have given us a very different picture to that given to us
by some of our other witnesses, and it is very useful to see the
different experiences for you as staff, but also for the woman
and the babies in your areas.
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