The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has welcomed the announcement of a rapid review of maternity safety. The review, announced by Health Secretary Wes Streeting, is due to report by Christmas. Alongside this, the Health Secretary will chair a National Maternity & Neonatal Taskforce, which will bring together experts, staff and campaigners to drive improvements across maternity and neonatal services in England.
RCM Chief Executive Gill Walton said:
“Every woman and family should leave maternity and neonatal services whole, happy and healthy. Yet we know that, for far too many, that isn’t their experience. Systemic failings and a lack of attention to the warning signs have let those families down, and let down the hardworking staff who are trying so hard to provide the care they deserve. Everyone involved in maternity services – the midwifery community, obstetricians, anaesthetists, sonographers and, of course, the women and families in their care – knows that maternity services are at, or even beyond, breaking point. This renewed focus and commitment by the Health Secretary to deliver change is welcome, and we will do everything we can to support him in doing so.”
The College was encouraged to hear the Health Secretary emphasise the need for greater accountability around maternity and neonatal care at executive level within Trusts. The RCM has long called for Directors of Midwifery to sit on Trust boards, so that they can raise concerns directly with those with the power to deliver the systemic change needed.
Gill added:
“Up and down the country, there are midwives and maternity support workers who genuinely dread the start of another shift, because they know they won’t be able to provide the quality of care that they have trained so hard to deliver. They know their shift will be under-staffed, that care will be rushed as a result, and they will go home questioning whether they could have done more. We support them to raise their concerns within their Trust, but all too often they remain unheard. The NHS is setting up our midwifery community to fail, and that has to change. We are taking Wes Streeting at his word that he wants to make maternity services better for everyone, including the hardworking staff currently doing their best against the odds.”
The Secretary of State’s announcement comes just weeks before the RCM, alongside eight other organisations, is due to hold a summit on maternity and neonatal safety. For the first time, Trust Chief Executives and Chairs will be the target audience, in a bid to unlock the commitment and prioritisation maternity and neonatal safety desperately needs.
Gill said:
“Directors of Midwifery and Obstetric Clinical Leads know what needs to be done to make rapid and sustained safety improvements, but all too often their voices simply aren’t being heard by those with the power to make those improvements a priority for the Trust. This summit seeks to address that, to put maternity and neonatal safety front and centre and to bring about the progress all of us, from the Secretary of State to the newly-qualified midwife, and especially the women and families accessing those services, desperately want to see.”
ENDS
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Notes to Editors
- The RCM has long called for greater focus on maternity and neonatal safety by this and previous Governments. It has raised concerns with successive Secretaries of State, giving voice to the issues raised its members around understaffing, poor workplace cultures and the difficulties in escalating concerns to senior leaders within Trusts.
- The Health Secretary made the announcement of a rapid national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services and the establishment of a national taskforce at the RCOG World Congress in London this morning. Alongside thee measures, he said that he and the NHS England Chief Executive, Sir Jim Mackey, and the Chief Nursing Officer, Duncan Burton, will meet with Trust leaders in the areas of greatest concern over the next month to drive forward urgent improvement, outline consistent expectations in changing culture and practice, and hold leaders to account for failing. A new digital system will be rolled out to all maternity services by November to flag potential safety concerns in trusts and support rapid, national action. An anti-discrimination programme to tackle inequalities in care for Black, Asian, and other underserved communities.
- The maternity and neonatal safety summit, From Insight to Impact, is hosted by Progress in Partnership. It takes place on Wednesday 16 July at 10 Union Street. The full programme will be released shortly, with keynote speakers including Dr Bill Kirkup, who authored the reports into maternal and neonatal safety at Morecambe Bay and East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust, and the Rt Hon Sir Jeremy Hunt MP, former Secretary of State for Health and current Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Patient Safety. There will also be presentations from frontline staff of programmes and initiatives that are already showing success that can be adopted and adapted by other Trusts.
Formerly the Independent Working Group on Maternity & Neonatal Safety, Progress in Partnership was established following the Ockenden Review of maternity services at Shrewsbury & Telford Hospitals Trust in 2022 as part of the review’s recommendations. Its aim is to provide a voice for frontline workers on safety in maternity and neonatal care.
Between them, Progress in Partnership members represent over 200,000 healthcare professionals working in maternity and neonatal are. The member organisations are:
- Royal College of Midwives (co-chair)
- Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (co-chair)
- Royal College of Anaesthetists
- Royal College of General Practitioners
- Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health
- Institute of Health Visiting
- Neonatal Nurses Association
- British Association of Perinatal Medicine
- Society of Radiographers
- Any media wishing to attend the summit should contact tanner@rcm.org.uk.
About the RCM
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.
