When Home Birth Services Are Withdrawn: The Case That Proved It’s Not Acceptable
In the mid-2010s, a mother in Norfolk faced the same situation that women in Gloucestershire are facing today: her local NHS Trust had “temporarily” suspended its home birth service.
Determined to give birth at home, she booked an Independent Midwife (IM) — and asked her Trust to fund the care that should have been available under the NHS. The Trust refused. With the support of AIMS (the Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services) and Birthrights, she challenged the decision, ultimately taking her case to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
The outcome was groundbreaking.
The Ombudsman ruled that the Trust — the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn — had acted with maladministration by:
keeping its home-birth service suspended for years,
failing to offer any genuine alternative, and
refusing to explore commissioning independent midwifery support.
The woman received a consolatory payment, and the Trust was instructed to review its maternity provision and ensure women were not denied safe, supported options for birth.
Although often described as a court win, the decision was technically an Ombudsman ruling — but the principle stands: withdrawing home-birth services without offering alternatives breaches women’s rights and constitutes poor governance.
Why this matters now
This case, remembered within AIMS as “The Battle for Cordelia”, shows that when services are withdrawn, women can challenge unfair decisions — and win. It highlights the duty of NHS Trusts to provide genuine choice and continuity, not simply funnel everyone onto a labour ward.
As Gloucestershire families now face uncertainty around home-birth availability, this precedent is worth remembering. Women have the right to birth where they feel safe — and NHS organisations have a duty to make that possible.
References:
AIMS Journal (Vol 28 No 2) “Ombudsman finds King’s Lynn guilty of maladministration”
Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman Case Ref: HS-242121