Chipping Norton midwife unit reopens today (Monday) after a 17-month closure

The birthing unit closed in August 2021 because staff shortages at the Oxford maternity unit meant the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust (OUH) had to requisition staff to the main city hospital.

The OUH announced the reopening of the Chipping Norton unit, and the Wantage midwife-led provision (which also closed temporarily in 2021) today, Monday, January 9.

Catherine Greenwood, Clinical Director for Maternity at the trust, said: “We are really pleased to be able to offer greater birth choices for parents with the reopening of our midwifery-led Units (MLUs) in Wantage and Chipping Norton.

“We appreciate that these two units have been temporarily closed for a long time, and we apologise wholeheartedly to the families who were impacted by this and to anyone unable to give birth in their preferred location.

“Decisions about service provision are made with safety being the number one priority, and we know from the national picture that there will be future challenges related to workforce. We are committed to delivering the safest care possible and we have been frustrated at not being able to provide the full service that we have wanted to.

“Thank you to colleagues who have worked so hard to reintroduce full maternity services at OUH and maintaining one-to-one care standards during a difficult time.”

The Chipping Norton and Wantage units have remained open for antenatal and postnatal care.

Women more than 36 weeks pregnant who wish to give birth at either MLU should contact their community midwife.

It was hoped that the units would reopen in March, 2022 but the staffing situation worsened.