NEWS: NHS Maternity Care at Risk of Decline

As reported by Yahoo News, poor quality NHS maternity care will become ‘normalised’ if action is not taken, according to the healthcare watchdog

A Care Quality Commission (CQC) report, which brings together the findings from 131 inspections, also highlighted that many failings
identified in recent high-profile investigations into NHS maternity services are “more widespread”. It has called for “increased national action” and ring-fenced investment into services in order to tackle shortfalls.

NHS maternity care has been under increased scrutiny in recent years after several high-profile inquiries, such as the Ockenden Review into
more than 200 baby deaths at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, and the investigation into maternity services in East Kent.

Nicola Wise, director of secondary and specialist care at the CQC, added: “Sadly, our latest maternity inspection programme has further
evidenced the need for urgent action with continued problems indicating that the failings uncovered in recent high-profile investigations are
not isolated to just a handful of individual trusts.

“Although we’ve seen examples of good care and seen hardworking, compassionate staff doing their best, we remain concerned that key issues continue to impact quality and safety.”

The CQC has made a number of recommendations to NHS trusts, NHS England and integrated care boards to address the issues, and has also called for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to invest more in maternity services and work with NHS England to ensure this is ring-fenced.

NHS chief midwifery officer Kate Brintworth added: “Despite the hard work of NHS staff, we know that for large numbers of women and
families, NHS maternity care simply isn’t at the level they should expect and there is a lot to do to improve.”

Commenting on the report, Ranee Thakar, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: “The Government will have a long list of NHS priorities after last week’s Darzi Review, but this CQC report should propel maternity care to the top.

“It signals loud and clear that urgent, multi-pronged action is needed to tackle the complex, deep-rooted issues facing maternity services.”