A number of birthing services delivered by the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board were suspended in August
The birthing centre at The Royal Glamorgan Hospital has now reopened(Image: Rowan Griffiths)
A Welsh health board has reopened its birthing centre after a number of services were temporarily suspended due to “significant staffing challenges”. Their home birth service does however remain suspended, with bosses saying that restoring it remains a “key priority”.
At the start of August, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board announced they were suspending home birth services and a midwifery-led birthing centre at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital for six weeks as a result of staffing issues.
Expectant mothers were told they couldn’t give birth at the Tirion birth centre, which opened in 2019, but the centre reopened on Wednesday, September 9.
The health board, which covers Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil, said the issues had been resolved, with its usual services now restored. Stay informed on the latest health news by signing up to our newsletter here.
Despite the birthing centre reopening, the home birth service is still currently suspended. The heath board reassured mothers that they were reassessing the situation daily to make sure they could reinstate it as quickly as possible.
A spokesperson for Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB said: “We have been able to reopen Tirion Birth Centre this week, enabling women and families to access a freestanding birth centre and supporting greater choice in how and where they give birth.
“The restoration of our home birth service remains a key priority and we are reviewing the situation daily to ensure the service is reinstated as soon as possible.
“Our priority is always to provide safe, high-quality maternity care while supporting women to make informed choices about their birth experience.”
The Tirion centre provides a birthing service, as well as antenatal and postnatal care, including clinics, support and classes. It’s one of three midwifery-led options across the health board, alongside Tair Afon Birth Centre at Prince Charles Hospital and the Daffodil Suite at Princess of Wales Hospital.
The midwifery-led birth centre opened seven years ago when the health board rearranged how it delivered maternity care across the region. It is an option for women following a midwife-led care pathway, with the rooms being staffed and managed by midwives.
Previously, the Royal Glamorgan Hospital had consultant doctors working there, but these services were relocated and centralised to be delivered at Bridgend’s Princess of Wales Hospital and Merthyr Tydfil’s Prince Charles Hospital.
