“New standards for maternity must be the catalyst for safety improvements across all services in Wales.” That’s the message from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) as it welcomes Welsh Government plans to improve maternity services.

The new Quality Statement on Maternity and Neonatal care and Perinatal Engagement Framework, unveiled by the Welsh Government today, has rightly been developed by listening to the lived experience of women and their families and it’s crucial that this continues, says the RCM.

The RCM has also welcomed the focus on improving outcomes for Black, Asian and minority ethnic women and their babies.

However, the College has warned that the success of both the standards and perinatal framework are dependent on investment in maternity staff and therefore the workforce plan to support the successful implementation of these plans must be published without delay.

Commenting, RCM’s National Officer for Wales, Vicky Richards, said:

“We welcome the Welsh Government’s ambitions to achieve safe high quality maternity care for all women in Wales. This is something the RCM is absolutely committed to, and we are also pleased to have been able to contribute to both the maternity standards and the perinatal framework. However, both are dependent on investing in staff, crucially having the right levels of staff, in the right places with the right education and training. Particularly as our members are seeing an increase in more complex pregnancies with women presenting to maternity services with underlying health conditions such as higher BMI, mental ill health and social complexities. These women need specialist midwife support to maintain a safe pregnancy and ensure the best outcome for both them and their babies. The Welsh Government must continue to listen to the lived and current experiences of women using Welsh maternity services and the staff who work in them. This is central to a successful implementation and to improving the overall safety of our maternity services.”

The RCM is committed to addressing inequalities in pregnancy outcomes for women from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and has welcomed the Welsh Government’s focus on improving outcomes for these women. Maternity services must reflect both the needs of the communities they serve and the staff who work in them, says the RCM, whose decolonising education and practice programme of work is already supporting midwives and maternity support workers to better support the women in their care.

Vicky added:

“Going forward individual Health Boards are expected to listen to and act upon the ideas of pregnant women which we fully support. The RCM would also like to see the feedback from midwives and maternity support workers also included in this and transparency in reporting, whereby Health Boards would have to make these reports publicly available. This we feel would also support service improvements in other services; sharing successes and good practice between Health Boards will support the safety improvement drive. We would also like to see an annual report on the progress of both given by the Cabinet Secretary to the Senedd.”

ENDS

For interview requests and to contact the RCM Media Office call 020 7312 3456, or email media@rcm.org.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS

• Decolonising practice in midwifery – Royal College of Midwives
• Decolonising midwifery education toolkit – Royal College of Midwives
• RCM launches tool to tackle high levels of maternity disadvantage – Royal College of Midwives

• ‘Urgent action needed to improve maternity outcomes for women and babies’ – Royal College of Midwives
• RCM launches tool to tackle high levels of maternity disadvantage – Royal College of Midwives

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is the only trade union and professional association dedicated to serving midwifery and the whole midwifery team.  We provide workplace advice and support, professional and clinical guidance, and information, and learning opportunities with our broad range of events, conferences, and online resources. For more information visit the RCM | A professional organisation and trade union dedicated to serving the whole midwifery team