Reducing caesarian sections
Channel: Isle of Wight NHS
Date: 2011-11-25

A new strategy aimed at reducing the rate of caesarean sections on the Island has achieved significant success. Nationally, the caesarean section (C/S) rate had reached an all-time high -- with no sign of a let-up. This was reflected on the Island, where the rate was also increasing and C/S requests were repeatedly being made for social reasons and because of previous C/S births. The subsequent fall in the Island's rate followed introduction of the Department of Health's C-section toolkit. Maternity's Vaginal Birth After Caesarean Section (VBAC) strategy, introduced in 2008, has seen the C/S rate fall from 26% to 18.1% at April 2011.  This entry was a finalist in the 2011 NHS Isle of Wight Awards.  For more information visit www.iow.nhs.uk/awards.