‘Bold action’ needed from ministers to support better maternity care

NHS trust leaders have called for ‘bold action’ from the government to support them in their ongoing efforts to improve the quality and safety of maternity services in England.
 
In a new report, Bold action: tackling inequalities in maternity care, trusts set out their worries about the quality and safety of care as demand rises amid reduced resources and the knock-on effect of deep-rooted problems in access and equality elsewhere in the health system. For example, black women are up to three times more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth compared to white women. 
 
Following news that the future of funding for maternity improvements has been slashed, trust leaders have set out a vision for steps to improve maternity services including:

• Ensuring maternity services are sufficiently resourced to enable trusts to implement long-term, strategic improvements and targeted interventions aimed at reducing inequalities.
• National prioritisation and support for trusts in tackling structural racism and unconscious bias in services.
• Funding should be targeted at areas with higher rates of inequalities in access to enable greater focus on interventions to overcome barriers to access.
• Ensuring services have the maternity workforce they need for safe, high-quality care for patients, by prioritising action on recruitment and retention within maternity services.
• All national, regional and local policies to improve maternity services should be co-produced with women.
• More joined-up care aimed at making prevention a priority.
• Family Hubs and Women’s Health Hubs to build close links to maternity services.
  
  

Isabel Lawicka, director of policy and strategy, NHS Providers, said: 
 
“Whilst most women have positive birth experiences with good outcomes, far too many women have deeply distressing experiences that end in preventable tragedies.  
 
“Improving maternity services is a vital step toward fixing our wider health system and provides a litmus test for addressing system-wide inequalities.
 
“When we get maternity care right, we improve health outcomes for everyone. Trust leaders have laid out clearly what support is needed to produce real and tangible changes. Frontline staff have been working round the clock to improve services but it’s clear that more support and prioritisation is needed from government and national bodies through increased investment and resources as well as through standardised, national approaches that can help reduce variation in care.  
 
“Making these changes will require bold action from government to adequately resource maternity services to make necessary improvements. 
 
“We hope that the government’s 10-year health plan will provide the roadmap of how we can reach the vision of maternity care laid out by trusts. Getting it right for the most vulnerable mothers and babies will be a measure of how successful the plan has been in creating real change and improving our national health and wellbeing.”