Morecambe Bay trust suspended gas and air for home births

The Morecambe Bay NHS Trust, which runs south Cumbria's hospital, suspended the use of the pain-relieving gas after it found some staff attending home births were exposed to three times the safe limit.

Maternity services at Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal were also suspended in March due to the risk posed by the gas, known officially as entonox.

According to papers for a meeting of the trust's board, tests for levels of the gas were also carried out at Furness General Hospital.

The levels found were within the occupational exposure limits and it is still in use.

However tests found two staff members who attended a home birth were exposed to three times over the limit.

Board papers said: "Occupational Exposure of Entonox testing has shown over exposure at Home Birth and has led to the temporary suspension of Entonox.

"There is a working party set up to work through the issues led by the Director of Estates.

"This has been entered onto the maternity risk register."

The health risks to staff are extremely low as the main risk is due to repeated over exposure however the staff members were offered Occupational Health assessment and accepted this.

"Due to this risk a decision was made temporarily suspend the use of Entonox at Home Birth while the Health and Safety risks and mitigations were understood," said the papers.

"All women due a home birth over the next six weeks were contacted immediately, informed and apologised to, and offered a discussion with a midwife around the choice of place of birth and analgesia options."

A number of hospitals across the country have suspended the use of gas and air, a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen, amid concern for midwives' safety.

An NHS England spokesman said: “NHS England has been working with the Trusts where gas and air supplies have been affected due to differing and localised issues – this is not a widespread issue and patients should continue to access services as normal.”