The North Staffordshire obstetric flying squad, 1986–1990

Abstract

SummaryThe objective was to audit the activity of the North Staffordshire Maternity Hospital Obstetric Flying Squad using a retrospective case note and register review, covering 1986-1990.There were 132 calls, a rate of 4:1000 deliveries; all were domiciliary and the majority were within 5 miles of the hospital. Only 22 calls were professionally initiated. Bleeding was the commonest problem, though this was estimated to be less than 100 ml in 80 per cent. In 92 per cent of instances no action was necessary other than setting up an intravenous infusion and transporting the patient back to hospital.The current use of the obstetric flying squad to respond to domiciliary obstetric emergencies is redundant and usually inappropriate.