Overnight last night, the BBC published a report into midwives leaving the NHS in fear as they cannot offer safe care due to issues including staffing levels.
You can read it here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-67732916
It was also reported on recently by Victoria MacDonald for Channel 4 News here:
In both cases, I was grateful to be able to contribute to the debate, alongside midwives whose experiences of frontline care appear to be increasing in terms of stress.
Today, as the BBC’s focus was naturally on their report, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on birth trauma in the UK Parliament announced the set-up of an inquiry to investigate the reasons for traumatic birth and to develop policy recommendations to reduce the rate of birth trauma.
Against this backdrop, the Ockenden review into Nottingham continues, and the CQC is continuing to publish findings of its recent investigations into England’s maternity services.
Does this all feel like things are going in the right direction?
Well, as I was able to explain to Naga Munchetty on her BBC radio show earlier (apologies for any transcript errors I’ve typed it out quickly after just hearing it back): “I truly sympathise with care givers who don’t feel able to provide safe care, and those who feel they have to leave. But the challenges facing maternity services in the UK are not as linear as just a midwife shortage and midwives leaving - there is an entire system of care and regulation that needs unpicking to find out why babies are still dying or being harmed avoidably, why 30,000 women a year are suffering birth trauma, why black women are four times more likely to die in childbirth, why midwives don’t feel able to speak out.
“To just focus on midwives leaving or birth trauma, or just look at Nottingham or care only in England is missing a real opportunity to create the fundamental change that is required in the UK.
“Together with my husband Richard and our friends and fellow bereaved parents Kayleigh and Colin Griffiths, we have asked the health secretary Victoria Atkins, and all health ministers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to commit to a national, four nation inquiry – the learning from which will enable the creation of a future proofed plan for the next decade and beyond, aligning with early years’ health and social care services - to deliver a step change in terms of childhood survival rates and childhoods that thrive.”
As our valued followers of this petition know, we have taken a step forward as the CEO of England’s regulator, the CQC has said he is willing to create an alliance with all nations’ regulators to share learning with the ambition of creating required improvements at pace.
But we must advance our ambitions further – because learning in a piecemeal fashion from a report like the BBC’s today, the all-party inquiry that’s launched into birth trauma and Donna Ockeneden’s anticipated report into Nottingham for example won’t work. We also have to pull in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and we have to look holistically at care – from front line to regulation, from training standards and working methods to investment.
But this UK-wide, publicly scrutinised, expert led inquiry is only part one of our ambition. Part two is using the learning to create a future proofed plan – Richard and I have an 11 year old daughter, a sister to Kate. And Kayleigh and Colin have a 12 year old daughter, a sister to Pippa. They and their peers deserve a better, safer journey to parenthood, and their children deserve a better start in life, which is why we will all continue to push for learning, deep seated changes and ultimately, improvement.
If you agree - please share our petition https://www.change.org/p/national-maternity-inquiry/
Image of BBC journalist Subha Nagalakshmi Munchetty-Chendriah taken from this source: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jun/17/naga-munchetty-when-i-said-i-was-studying-english-my-mum-said-what-are-you-going-to-do-become-a-poet