TY - JOUR
T1 - Costs of intrapartum care in a midwife-managed delivery unit and a consultant-led labour ward
AU - Hundley, Vanora A.
AU - Donaldson, Cam
AU - Lang, Gordon D.
AU - Cruickshank, Fiona M.
AU - Glazener, Cathryn M.A.
AU - Milne, Joan M.
AU - Mollison, Jill
N1 - Funding Information:
The study was funded by the Scottish Office Home and Mean length of stay in days and extra days relative to a normal deliveryl: Health Department (SOHHD). However, the opinions
PY - 1995/9
Y1 - 1995/9
N2 - Objective: to investigate whether there are differences between the cost of intrapartum care for women at low obstetric risk in a midwife-managed labour and delivery unit and that in a consultant-led labour and delivery ward. Design: cost analysis based on the findings of a randomised controlled trial comparing two alternative types of intrapartum care. Setting: Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, Grampian. Subjects: the number of women 'booked' for care in the Midwives' Unit in a standard year and a comparable group of women cared for in the consultant-led labour ward. Primary outcome measure: the cost 'outcome' is the extra (or reduced) cost per woman resulting from the introduction of a midwife-managed delivery unit. Findings: the baseline extra cost of the introduction of the Midwives' Unit was found to be £40.71 per woman. Depending on the scenario used, this ranged from a cost saving of £9.74 per woman to an additional cost of £44.23 per woman. Conclusions: this study has shown that, in terms of costs incurred during the intrapartum period, the marginal cost of caring for women at low obstetric risk alongside women at high obstetric risk in a standard labour ward is small. However, the impact of establishing a separate midwife-managed delivery unit, requiring an increase in midwifery staffing levels, can be significant.
AB - Objective: to investigate whether there are differences between the cost of intrapartum care for women at low obstetric risk in a midwife-managed labour and delivery unit and that in a consultant-led labour and delivery ward. Design: cost analysis based on the findings of a randomised controlled trial comparing two alternative types of intrapartum care. Setting: Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, Grampian. Subjects: the number of women 'booked' for care in the Midwives' Unit in a standard year and a comparable group of women cared for in the consultant-led labour ward. Primary outcome measure: the cost 'outcome' is the extra (or reduced) cost per woman resulting from the introduction of a midwife-managed delivery unit. Findings: the baseline extra cost of the introduction of the Midwives' Unit was found to be £40.71 per woman. Depending on the scenario used, this ranged from a cost saving of £9.74 per woman to an additional cost of £44.23 per woman. Conclusions: this study has shown that, in terms of costs incurred during the intrapartum period, the marginal cost of caring for women at low obstetric risk alongside women at high obstetric risk in a standard labour ward is small. However, the impact of establishing a separate midwife-managed delivery unit, requiring an increase in midwifery staffing levels, can be significant.
U2 - 10.1016/0266-6138(95)90024-1
DO - 10.1016/0266-6138(95)90024-1
M3 - Article
C2 - 7565153
AN - SCOPUS:0029375480
SN - 0266-6138
VL - 11
SP - 103
EP - 109
JO - Midwifery
JF - Midwifery
IS - 3
ER -