Almost a quarter of women are left alone during labour, according to a health and care watchdog report.
The Care Quality Commission’s annual survey of patient views on maternity services found that 23 per cent of women said that they had been left alone by doctors or midwives at a time that worried them, including two per cent left alone during the birth.
The figure was slightly down from the 26 per cent of women who were left alone in 2015, but the National Childbirth Trust said it was “still of great concern” and a symptom of low staffing levels.
The poll, which surveyed more than 18,000 women who gave birth in January and February last year, found that 88 per cent said that they were always treated with dignity and respect. A fifth of women who raised a concern did not feel it was taken seriously.
Despite guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence that women should be able to choose where to give birth, 15 per cent said they were not offered any choice, and only 38 per cent were told they could give birth at home.