A PRIVATE midwifery services provider with 1,664 women on its register in Cheshire and Merseyside has gone into administration.

One to One (North West) Limited made the announcement this week, meaning dozens of pregnant women have been left with no community midwife.

A source told the Standard that 60 midwives had also been given just 48 hours notice of redundancy via email.

The man, who has asked to remain anonymous, added: “Pregnant women due this week have also been told via email they no longer have a midwife, many of which were planning a homebirth with that midwife.”

One to One has operated as an NHS contractor across the wider area for nine years and has cared for more than 17,000 families.

The company has stressed that its service users already registered or ‘booked’ “will be supported in the transfer of their care to an alternative NHS provider of their choice”.

In a statement it added: “It is regrettable that a service and model of care which provided such excellent clinical outcomes for women and their babies was not able to continue to do so.

“One to One is extremely proud of its midwives and their achievements over the last nine years, in what has been a very challenging NHS environment. All our staff have contributed to the amazing care of over 17,000 families in this time and ultimately in the achievement of safer outcomes for women and their babies, including lower stillbirth rates and premature birth rates, but unfortunately this has not been enough to ensure the continuation of the service.”

NHS West Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which holds the purse strings for healthcare commissioning in this borough, said it had been informed One to One would go into administration from 5pm on Wednesday (July 31).

A spokesman said: “Our priority has been to ensure that those women registered with One to One (North West) Limited service can continue to access the support they need.

“Women affected are being contacted directly by a dedicated team to make arrangements to transfer their care to an alternative provider. The team can also be contacted on 0151 604 7688/9 and is available from 9.00am – 5.00pm Monday to Friday.”

One to One had provided services on behalf of the following Clinical Commissioning Groups: NHS Wirral; NHS Liverpool; NHS Warrington; NHS West Cheshire; NHS South Cheshire; NHS Vale Royal; NHS South Sefton; and NHS Southport and Formby.

The CCG spokesman added: “The contract to provide case loading midwifery led community services by One to One (North West) Limited has been in place since 2016 and the current contract is due to expire on March 31, 2020.

“A procurement exercise is ongoing to seek a new provider for this service.”

In its statement, One to One said it had made the “difficult decision” to cease trading and place the company into administration.

It continued: “For many years, One to One has sought to influence the financial basis of how a community midwife led service, based on a continuity of carer model, can remain viable and sustainable within a challenging NHS landscape.

“Proposals were presented at a local and national level in an attempt to simplify how independent midwifery providers like One to One, NHS Trusts and CCGs that are required to work collaboratively across geographical boundaries, might be remunerated more efficiently and effectively.

“In the absence of any appetite to support these proposals, and recent confirmation that the proposed new contract will be procured without changes to this unsustainable financial structure, One to One had no further options available and as such has no choice but to recognise that the company was insolvent.”

* If you've been affected by One to One going into administration and would like to share your story, contact our newsdesk on 01244 304554 or email steve.creswell@newsquest.co.uk