BRITISH MATERNITY DEATHS THE RESULT OF GOVERNMENT BUNGLING

A maternity unit where ten mothers have died in the past three years had its workload increased by almost 50 per cent after the Government closed a nearby facility to make way for a much vaunted hospital project, it has emerged. Services at Northwick Park Hospital in northwest London were put under “intolerable” pressure after the closure of a maternity unit at nearby Central Middlesex Hospital, according to staff.

Northwick Park, which already had the most overstretched midwifery service in the country, had its workload increased from 3,600 to more than 5,000 deliveries a year to accommodate the new hospital facility, which was a pet government project.

The Brent Emergency Care and Diagnostic Centre (BECaD), the new hospital, has been promoted as a bestpractice blueprint for hospital care. It was announced by the Government in 2001 and is due to be completed early next year. Its development has coincided with the recent problems at Northwick Park.

While the birth rate in the area is higher than average — and growing at nearly 10 per cent a year — Northwick Park has experienced an annual rise in deliveries of almost 15 per cent since 2002. The number of deaths at the hospital in the past three years is five times the national average. In Britain an average of about one mother in 8,700 dies in childbirth.

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INDIAN NURSES FOR AMERICA: CAPITALISM AT WORK FILLING THE NEED

The following is from an Indian newspaper

Indian nurses are in demand in the US, in numbers like 250,000. An acute shortage of nurses in the US will now translate into a whopping pay packet of $45,000-$65,000, eligibility for a Green Card and perks for Indian nurses, at par with their US counterparts. Says Stephen S. Nuell, president of Nurses For International Exchange, the demand for nurses has escalated so much that the US Congress is set to bring in a legislation to make visas to nurses easily available. "We zeroed in on India because we need nurses who are trained, educated and have the kind of dedication towards their job that Indians do. They’re much more motivated and mature," says Dr Mark McKenney of the Jackson Memorial Medical Centre.

Says a nurse who works at Bowring Hospital: "This might open a door of opportunities for nurses in India, who are typically overworked and underpaid. We are here with a service motive...but shouldn’t be treated shabbily.’’ For such a plaintive cry, there might be an incentive in the US — nurses are required to work only three days a week. Says Dr Mark McKenney: "Three-day-a-week is a standard practice for nurses. They are treated very nicely. In group meetings, doctors always say, 'Anyone treating nurses badly loses their job'."

A nurse would have to clear some exams, appear for a screening test, and interview before being recruited. Once selected, the hospital or the placement agency recruiting them will bear the cost of processing the green card/visa, legal fees et al. Could this new demand lead to an outsourcing-like backlash? "This’s not outsourcing, this is insourcing. The issue is not the cost of human capital but demand vs supply. The outcry against call centres and medical transcription industry is only due to one reason — cost.’’

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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL hospitals and health insurance schemes should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the very poor and minimal regulation.

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