Is childbirth safe in the UK and are there enough obstetricians? Letter to a chief executive

Abstract

If you are at term after a normal pregnancy and are not lucky enough to live in Portsmouth, then your chance of losing the baby during labour is higher in Great Britain than in nine other European countries, including Slovenia. The NHS Litigation Authority have put aside 1.3 billion Pounds for the next 5 years to cover litigation relating to cases of cerebral palsy, the majority of which will occur in GP- and midwife-led units. The European work directive will severely restrict staff grade and consultant hours of work over the next few years and this can only be made up by appointing more consultants.