There is “no absolute guarantee” that Jersey’s home birth service will be reinstated – and there is a possibility that it could become a paid-for service, the Health Minister has said.
Director of Midwifery Roslyn Bullen-Bell told the Health Scrutiny Panel yesterday that the service had been suspended after it turned out that not enough midwives and paramedics were appropriately trained.
“It’s not just the midwives who have that training, it’s also the paramedics,” she explained.
“We’ve been working very closely with them as well to make sure that we’ve got a very cohesive training programme for all of our midwives and paramedics together.”
A training day with “the most up-to-date, reliable and safe” training was coming up, she added – with more training scheduled later in the year.
But this does not guarantee the reinstatement of the home birth service, according to Health Minister Tom Binet.
“We want to be completely honest here and say that there’s no absolute guarantee that the service will be reinstated,” he said.
“If I understand it correctly, it was only ever a service that was available as and when it was deemed appropriate and the right people were there to do it.
“It wasn’t a full, guaranteed, 24/7/365 service – and it may well be the case that we’re not able to offer something we’ve not offered in the past, and we just have to be completely honest about that.”
Ms Bullen-Bell added that availability might depend on how busy the ward is, and what staffing levels are like at any one time.
“We have to make sure that we’re providing one-to-one care for all of our ladies, not just those who are in the community setting,” she said.
Any decision will be made as a result of the review and based on cost, Deputy Binet added.
Asked to clarify whether there was a “significant possibility” the service wouldn’t be reinstated, Deputy Binet said: “I don’t know that I’d go as far as to use the word ‘significant’ possibility, but there is a possibility.”
He added that it was possible that the home birth service might become a paid-for service.
The Minister said: “I don’t think anything’s out of scope in terms of what we have to look for.
“And that could be the thing that makes the difference… That could be something that we look at.”
Express revealed that Jersey’s home birth service was suspended in October in order to conduct an “internal review” of training, protocols and resources.
Video: The Minister explains that a paid-for option may be explored.
The decision to suspend home births saw backlash from expectant parents, especially some who had used the service in the past.
Alix Le Cornu, who gave birth once at home and once at the hospital, told Express the lack of home birth service “would honestly put [her] off having another child”.
The cost of the training, called ‘Childbirth Emergencies in the Community’, has not been revealed.
