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How many more reviews are needed? Joined-up policy and investment in England's maternity units is needed now to improve postnatal and inter-pregnancy care
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Shakespeare, Judy, Duff, Elizabeth and Bick, Debra (2022) How many more reviews are needed? Joined-up policy and investment in England's maternity units is needed now to improve postnatal and inter-pregnancy care. Midwifery, 113 . 103469. doi:10.1016/j.midw.2022.103469
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2022.103469
Abstract
So much of society's future is invested in the birth of a healthy baby into a healthy family. In 2015 the then Department of Health in England announced an ambitious initiative to improve the safety of women and their babies, with a commitment to halve the 2010 rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths, and brain injuries in babies occurring during or after birth by 2025. (DH 2015). “Better Births” was published the following year with a vision of kinder, safer, more personalised care, and a strong focus on informed choice and continuity of carer (Better Births 2016). In July 2021, the Health and Social Care Committee reported poor progress on some aspects of the safety ambition, including maternal deaths (The safety of maternity services in England 2022).
Unsafe maternity care has cost the National Health Service in England (NHS) £8.2bn in 15 years. In its latest annual report for 2021/2, NHS Resolution said the number of maternity claims made against the NHS makes up 62% of secondary care clinical claims by value (50% in 2019/20) but only 12% by volume (NHS Resolution Annual report and accounts 2021-22 2022).
How many more surveys of women's experiences, reports of poor quality care and failings of senior management at NHS maternity units do we need to know that there is still a massive problem with maternity services in England? The recent publication of the Ockenden report on Shrewsbury & Telford NHS Trust is yet another review of maternity services demonstrating that inadequate numbers of appropriately skilled staff, coupled with a failure of leadership and teamwork, led to a system that failed to listen and to take women's and families’ concerns seriously (Ockenden, 2022). As a response to the report the Government has announced an additional investment of £127m into maternity services in England intended to ‘bolster’ the maternity workforce, and fund programmes to strengthen leadership, retention, and neonatal maternity care provision (Oral statement to Parliament: The Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP 2022) How far this money will go to resolve the problems identified is unclear at this stage, as are the greatest priorities for immediate capital investment.
Item Type: | Journal Item | ||||||
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Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Clinical Trials Unit Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School |
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Journal or Publication Title: | Midwifery | ||||||
Publisher: | Elsevier Sci Ltd. | ||||||
ISSN: | 0266-6138 | ||||||
Official Date: | October 2022 | ||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 113 | ||||||
Number of Pages: | 3 | ||||||
Article Number: | 103469 | ||||||
DOI: | 10.1016/j.midw.2022.103469 | ||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||
Copyright Holders: | Elsevier |
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