Premature twins cared for 30 miles from Bridgnorth home due to lack of bed space
Newborn twins spent 10 days at hospital in Stoke-on-Trent because of a lack of space at a new women and children's unit 30 miles away.
Samantha Tudor, of Bridgnorth, was transferred to the Royal Stoke University Hospital from the Princess Royal Hospital, Telford, on February 13 after doctors decided that her twin girls needed to be delivered by Caesarian section as they were seven weeks premature.
But the twins were moved because the beds at PRH's maternity unit were full.
After the twin's birth, on February 14, several requests were made by the hospital in Stoke to transfer Mrs Tudor and her twin daughters, Scarlett and Aime, back to Telford.
But a lack of available space at the maternity unit means they remain in Staffordshire. Samantha's husband Greg, who is a self-employed carpenter, said the extra distance between his home and the hospital has made it more difficult for him to see his new-born children and has put extra strain on his wife.
"It has been very worrying. I actually can't be there because I am self-employed and I do not get maternity pay, so I cannot take time off," said Mr Tudor.
Cathy Smith, the women and children's care group director and head of midwifery at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said there had not been enough space on the ward to accommodate the new-born twins and that she understood the Tudor family's concerns.
"Premature babies need the very best available care to give them every chance of a full and healthy start to life and our job in the NHS is to provide this every time for every baby, mother and family," said Mrs Smith.
"The demand for neo-natal intensive care can be very unpredictable. One day a specialist unit may be almost empty and the next day it may be full. As of Monday morning there were 20 babies on the unit in Telford.
"It is not possible to provide all levels of care at all times in every hospital, so the NHS has designed networks. This is where a group of hospitals work together to make sure that all babies are provided with the correct level of care as close to home as possible," said Mrs Smith.
