Closure: How the Flagship Albany Midwifery Practice, at the Heart of Its South London Community, Was Demonised and Dismantled Reed Becky

Specifikacia Closure: How the Flagship Albany Midwifery Practice, at the Heart of Its South London Community, Was Demonised and Dismantled Reed Becky

In 1997 the Albany Midwifery Practice in Peckham, south London, negotiated a pioneering NHS contract with King's College Hospital Trust. The Albany model of midwifery care was loved and respected not only by those who experienced it first-hand, but also by the wider midwifery profession. Founded to serve one of the most disadvantaged populations in London, its innovative approach led to improved outcomes for mothers and their babies. Why, then, was the practice suddenly shut down in 2009? Although it was widely acknowledged that the Albany model offered gold-standard care, the hospital trust claimed that since March 2006 this care had been 'unsafe'. But both the data and the methodology used to condemn the practice were flawed, and the real reasons for the closure remained obscure. Despite extensive protests by mothers and families, midwives, and many high-profile supporters, the Albany