THE maternity unit at St Peter's Hospital, in Chertsey, which was cleared of causing the deaths of dozens of babies last month, is holding an open day, in a bid to recruit staff.

A report by the Commission For Health Improvement (CHI) ruled in April that the unit, in Guildford Road, actually had a lower rate of baby deaths than other similarly-sized maternity units in England.

However, the report did uncover a range of problems, such as poor working relations between consultants, poor team work, inadequate systems to ensure high-quality care and stated that the unit had not learned from previous incidents where babies had died. And one of the main problems highlighted was the lack of midwives.

The CHI launched the investigation following public concern about the death rates among babies treated at the unit, between January 2000 and June 2000, but found that fears were unfounded.

"We have taken the recent CHI report as a real opportunity to take our midwifery-led service forward," said head of midwifery, Michaela Morris.

"Considerable importance is now placed on team working between midwives and consultants.

"The recent appointment of a consultant midwife will give the service clearer direction for the future, and our £1.4 million modernisation programme is nearing completion."

The open day, for qualified midwives and midwifery students interested in working at the hospital, will be held on Friday, June 6, from 9am to 5pm.

The programme includes updates on midwifery care, infant feeding, community midwifery, patient education, diabetes services, high dependency care, counselling services and training opportunities.

There will also be tours of the unit during the day.

Ms Morris continued: "The only way for people to get a proper feel for whether or not they want to join the unit is for them to come along and take a look for themselves."

May 30, 2003 10:30