THE use of gas and air has been suspended at Basildon Hospital maternity ward again, bosses confirm.

Mid and South Essex NHS Trust has confirmed the use of gas and air pain relief in its maternity ward has been temporarily suspended.

They say “more testing of air quality levels is required” to ensure “safe levels” going forward.

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This comes after a probe into high levels of nitrous oxide within the maternity ward at Basildon Hospital.

Last month, bosses at the Trust did also confirmed following the probe a new ventilation system had been installed.

However, they have again made the decision to suspend its use.

A spokesperson for Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Following further tests into air quality, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend the use of gas and air in the maternity suite at Basildon Hospital to protect our staff who are working on the labour ward for extended periods of time.  

"We hope to have a resolution to this issue as soon as possible.

“More testing and monitoring of air quality levels is required before we can reinstate gas and air, and until then, it is absolutely necessary to ensure we can maintain safe levels going forward.

“We’re very sorry that women using the service won’t have access to Entonox during that time but would like to reassure them that every other method of pain relief will be available.

“While there has been no risk of harm at all to mothers and babies who have used the unit, prolonged exposure to the gas can lead to issues with vitamin B12 deficiency.

“Our midwives are contacting the families we expect to have their babies at Basildon soon, to talk to them about the options available to them.”

Bosses add that further investigations are on-going into the air quality testing by national bodies, and women will be given access to other sources of pain relief during labour.