Devon Maternity unit to close due to staff shortages
North Devon District Hospital (NDDH) in Barnstaple, Devon, said it faces not having enough consultant and medical cover to safely continue delivering babies there after 11 August.
The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, said it would continue to "explore every available opportunity" to avoid suspending the service.
Chief medical officer Vanessa Purday said: "A key priority now is ensuring that those women and families who are due to give birth receive timely, accurate information about their options."
She said it was an "enormous decision and one we feel the weight of in our community" but the hospital trust was "extremely concerned" about staffing levels at the NDDH.
The trust said it could not guarantee that "women would consistently have access to the level of senior medical support during labour they may require".
Purday said it had relied on locum and agency staff for some time, and that recent staff shortages and absences had "tipped the balance into it being unsafe to continue beyond 11 August".
She said maternity teams at North Devon District Hospital and the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, had "worked so hard and held this service together for many months, working extra and longer hours to ensure our families got the care they needed".
But despite efforts to fill gaps in the rota, the trust had been unable to secure enough medical staff from August.
Hospital leaders stressed the move would be temporary and said work was already under way to reopen the unit as soon as possible through recruitment and training.
Maternity teams have started contacting pregnant women in order of their due dates and clinical priority to discuss birth plans. Those who are already more than 34 weeks pregnant will be contacted first.
Full Statement from Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust:
Notification of potential and temporary suspension of births at North Devon District Hospital
Following a review of medical staffing levels and professional advice from clinical leaders, the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Board has been advised that beyond Tuesday 11 August 2026 there will be insufficient substantive consultant and medical cover to safely maintain births at North Devon District Hospital.
This means we cannot guarantee that women would consistently have access to the level of senior medical support during labour they may require.
For this reason, the Royal Devon has taken the difficult decision to begin planning for the temporary suspension of births at North Devon District Hospital from Tuesday 11 August 2026.
Between now and then, the Trust will continue to explore every available opportunity to avoid suspending the service, working closely with neighbouring providers, NHS Devon Integrated Care Board and NHS England South West.
Vanessa Purday, Royal Devon Chief Medical Officer, said,
“This is an enormous decision and one we feel the weight of in our community.
“We are extremely concerned about our maternity consultant and medical cover at NDDH. The service at NDDH has been reliant on locum and agency cover for some time and recent additional staffing shortages and absence have tipped the balance into it being unsafe to continue beyond 11 August.
“Our RD&E and NDDH maternity teams have worked so hard and held this service together for many months, working extra and longer hours to ensure our families got the care they needed. However, despite our best efforts we cannot staff our medical rota in August.
“A key priority now is ensuring that those women and families who are due to give birth receive timely, accurate information about their options, and are fully supported to make choices that are right for them. We don’t have all that detail yet but will be issuing it as soon as we can.”
This is a planned temporary suspension. We are doing all we can to reopen the unit as soon as possible. We are receiving advice and support from other Trusts that have successfully reopened services following temporary suspensions. Alongside this, we will continue to focus on recruitment, training and workforce stabilisation to get the service back open.
The Trust will ensure that everyone is informed of its progress in safe maternity services via its dedicated web page available on the Trust website. From Monday 27 July, the Trust’s maternity team will be contacting all those who are currently pregnant, in order of delivery date and clinical priority, to discuss their birthing plans and ensure they are fully supported.
Please use this information to respond to enquiries you may be receiving.
Helpline for non-urgent enquiries – 01271 335773
This is a new dedicated support helpline for general enquiries and is open Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. Outside of these hours you can leave contact details for a call back.
Urgent concerns – 24/7 maternity triage line – 01392 406616
Any women, birthing person or family member who needs urgent medical advice should call our maternity triage line as usual - available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 01392 406616.
Please do not use our triage helpline for non-urgent enquiries.
Feedback
People can also share feedback with Devon Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP) by emailing info@devonmaternityvoices.org.uk
