Commenting on new measures from the Department of Health and Social Care to boost the quality of care for mothers and babies – announced today in their response to the independent review into East Kent maternity services led by Dr Bill Kirkup – Miriam Deakin, director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers said:

"Increased national efforts to prevent failings in maternity care services, which have a devastating impact on families, are a vital step forward.

"Trust leaders are committed to learning from the Kirkup report, improving the quality of care for all mothers and their babies and tackling disparities in outcomes based on race.

"It's vital the government aligns the findings of this important report with wider work on maternity safety, including recommendations from other recent reports on maternity services.

"We hope their focus on improving teamwork helps tackle longstanding cultural issues that can undermine the safety of services.

"While this government announcement is welcome, sustainable improvement will depend on proper investment in workforce and capital."