Small West Flemish maternities threatened by hospital reform

The plans include a reduction in the number of care provisions. The hospitals need to specialize more and the number of maternities will also decrease. The memorandum states that “the minimum number of births as a condition for recognition for a maternity will be reviewed”. The report of the Federal Knowledge Center for Healthcare (KCE) uses a standard of 557 deliveries. A number of, especially smaller, maternities are therefore targeted, because fewer births take place per year than that norm.

Uncertain future

These include the maternity wards of Henri Serruys in Ostend, AZ Zeno in Knokke-Heist, the AZ Delta wards in Torhout and Menen and the Sint-Andries Hospital in Tielt. The latter counted 526 deliveries in 2021. According to the standard of the KCE – 557 deliveries – the maternity of Tielt could therefore lose its recognition.

At the city council of Tielt, Christophe Capoen – on behalf of the majority groups – submitted a motion in response to the reform plans. “Through this motion, we formulate some concerns that can be taken into account in the decision-making process and we want to draw attention to the fact that maternity care is a basic care and not a supra-regional care,” says Capoen.

“Quantity over quality”

The municipalities of the Tielt district represent 79 percent of the births in Tielt, with the municipalities of Wingene, Meulebeke and Ruiselede representing the largest share. “This is a clear confirmation of the regional operation,” it sounds in the motion of the city council in Tielt.

The midwives themselves lament that “childbirth is reduced to an action and that only quantity is used as a measure of quality”. They point out that giving birth is more than just providing medical and technical care. The professional association for Flemish midwives also warns that not everyone has the opportunity to travel far.

Alternatives

According to the Krant van West-Vlaanderen and the KCE, eight other hospitals in West Flanders could keep their maternity facilities, because they count more than 557 deliveries each year. These are the AZ Damiaan in Ostend, AZ Sint-Jan and AZ Sint-Lucas in Bruges, AZ Delta Rumbeke, Sint-Jozefskliniek in Izegem, OLV-Lourdes in Waregem, AZ Groeninge Kortrijk and the Jan Yperman in Ypres. AZ West in Veurne could also remain open, even if the hospital does not meet that standard. That is because there is no alternative maternity center nearby.

Surplus of beds

The reason for the screwing back of the maternity units is a surplus of beds. According to the KCE, it is an international trend to close small maternities and to transfer their activities to the remaining, larger maternities. “This reduces the average cost of births for hospitals and increases overall efficiency. Even in maternities with a low number of deliveries, a minimum of midwives, nurses, doctors and equipment must be permanently present.”

The KCE established two years ago that the Belgian maternity hospitals together had 600 beds too many. According to the center, that surplus would increase to 1,000 in 2025. “By closing maternity hospitals, we can get rid of the surplus and thus increase efficiency.”