Newborn Shropshire twins kept in Stoke hospital because there is not enough room in Telford

Mum Samantha Tudor was transferred to Royal Stoke University Hospital from Princess Royal Hospital in Telford on Friday, February 13, after doctors decided her twin girls needed to be delivered by Caesarian section, seven weeks premature.

They were moved because the beds at the PRH's maternity unit were full.

Since the birth on Saturday, several requests have been made by the hospital in Stoke to transfer Mrs Tudor and her daughters back to Telford, however, a lack of available space at the maternity unit means they remain in Staffordshire.

Samantha's husband Greg, who is a self-employed carpenter, said the extra distance between his home and the hospital has made it more difficult for him to see his newborn children, Scarlett and Aime, and has put extra strain on his wife.

He said: "It has been very worrying. I actually can't be there because I am self-employed and I do not get maternity pay so I cannot take time off.

"Having to drive that far, I do not get enough time to see my daughters because I have to drive up and down. I am having to leave my wife there to cope with it herself.

"With Shrewsbury or Telford it is half an hour drive to get to them, even in traffic, instead of an hour and a half to Stoke because the time when I am going, it is a busy time.

"I go every day but only at night time, then I have to come home early because we have got dogs and I've got work the next day."

Mr Tudor's mother, Gaynor, said they wanted Samantha and her children to be closer to her family.

She said: "The hospital in Telford has rung five times and they have said they don't have the beds or the staff. The Patient Advice Liaison Service spoke to the ward sister for me on Thursday and she said they have got 22 babies and there is no room.

"It is an anxious time for the family and we would just like them to be closer. It just makes you a bit annoyed that she can't come back to the county she lives in.

"For her own family it is hard. It is not so easy to visit as if you are going 20 minutes to Telford."

She added: "Officially they discharged her on Tuesday but she said there is no way she is leaving without her babies. She does not want to leave them there."

Mr Tudor said that his new daughters are doing well, despite weighing only four pounds when they were born, but that they have no idea when they will be transferred to Telford or able to return home.

He said: "They are doing really well but we do not know when they will be home. It's been quite worrying. They have to make more facilities to cope with it."

Cathy Smith, women and children's care group director and head of midwifery at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said there had not been enough space on the ward to accommodate the twins and that she understood the family's frustrations.

She said: "Premature babies need the very best available care to give them every chance of a full and healthy start to life and our job in the NHS is to provide this every time for every baby, mother and family.

"The demand for neonatal intensive care can be very unpredictable. One day a specialist unit may be almost empty and the next day it may be full. As of Monday morning there were 20 babies on the unit in Telford.

"It is not possible to provide all levels of care at all times in every hospital, so the NHS has Designed Networks. This is where a group of hospitals work together to make sure that all babies are provided with the correct level of care as close to home as possible.

"This does mean that, on occasion, it may not be possible to care for baby in the most local unit, but our goal always is to get baby home, or into a hospital as close to home as possible, at the earliest opportunity.

"Understandably, this can be more complex when supporting twins as in most circumstances the right choice is to care for them together.

"The situation on the unit is monitored throughout the day on a daily basis.

"We understand how frustrating the situation can be for families who are further away from home than they would like thank them for their patience and understanding."