by Angela Cole

acole@thekmgroup.co.uk

IT was like a scene from a TV hospital drama as a crash team and
consultants rushed to help Tina Baker when problems arose during labour.

As soon as a midwife at Maidstone called for a second opinion, specialists raced into action to help deliver baby boy Madoc safely after realising he was in danger of being starved of oxygen.

A consultant at the hospital had to hold the baby's head while he was still in the womb to ensure little Madoc did not suffocate.

Tina's husband, Neil, said: “This is exactly why we need specialist staff at Maidstone. I dread to think what would have happened if we had had to go to Pembury.”

It came as campaigners anxiously await the government's decision on whether women and children's services at Maidstone Hospital should close.

If the closure is allowed, a birthing centre staffed by midwives will be opened in Maidstone. Any mums who have unexpected complications in childbirth will be transferred from the centre to the full maternity unit at Pembury.

Mr Baker, from Ringlestone, told the dramatic story of his son's birth to the Kent Messenger to highlight the importance of keeping specialists on hand in the County Town.

He is not the first - others include Maria Marques from Willington Street, who had baby Fabienne in an ambulance on the way to Medway.

Ambulance staff turned round en-route to Pembury and made a dash to get to Medway, because they felt it was the easier and quicker hospital to get to.

Mum Sherry Johnson, who lost two litres of blood giving birth to Kai, has also told the Kent Messenger that she believes she would not have survived the journey to Pembury.

Read the Bakers' full story in today's Kent Messenger.