THE government have said that the reopening of the maternity services at North Devon Hospital could come sooner than expected.

In a letter to MPs, it stated that the ‘unacceptable’ delays in filling the staffing gaps might see a decision made on when it will reopen in the week commencing October 19.

The letter, shared by MP Sir Geoffrey Cox, comes 24 hours after the NHS Trust which runs North Devon Hospital said it would next make a decision in the week beginning October 26.

In a letter to Sir Geoffrey and other MPs, Baroness Merron said: “After what has been a long, frustrating and frankly unacceptable delay in filling the staffing gaps that caused the temporary closure of the unit, I am glad to say that two new consultants have now been recruited to work at the hospital on a locum basis.

“After a week of proper induction and training for the new staff, the intention is that a formal decision will be taken in the week commencing October 19 by the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to reopen the maternity unit.

“As you will know, the trust has been meeting every fortnight in recent weeks to carry out readiness assessments. The addition of the new locums will allow the trust to decide that all criteria relating to safety and staffing have been met and that a formal decision can be made to resume maternity services.”

The government letter also confirmed that while the initial reopening will be overseen by the temporary, locum consultants, work will be undergoing to recruit permanent staff.

It continued: “The trust has also confirmed to NHS England that work will continue to recruit new, permanent members of staff to address the staffing shortages that have affected the hospital and seek to prevent any repeat of the recent suspension of services.

“While this all represents welcome progress, there are two important things to say.

“First, it is unacceptable that women and their families in the North Devon area have been put through such unnecessary distress and concern at a crucial time, and forced to plan frightening long distance car journeys to the next available maternity unit.

“Secondly, while we understand why the trust originally decided it could not guarantee patient safety while operating at reduced staff levels. It is again unacceptable that it took so long to find suitably qualified staff to fill those gaps.

“Based on the conversations we have had since this issue first arose, we recognise that there was no shortage of effort in those attempts at recruitment, including trying to source temporary staff from overseas.

“For that reason, we have also instigated further work with NHS England on maternity workforce issues in remote and rural areas.

“However, in the short term I hope you will join me in welcoming what looks to be the resolution of the situation in North Devon and the imminent restoration of normal maternity services for expectant mothers in the region.

“There is much more to do and it remains a major priority for this government to make sure all women and babies receive the high-quality care they deserve.”