Concerns about care says RCM as new maternity ratings published

By RCM on 27 October 2016 Maternity Services NHS

Today NHS England has today published new ratings on maternity. The ratings highlight areas were services are performing well and areas where improvement is needed.

Commenting on the ratings, Cathy Warwick, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives, said: “This is a significant amount of data which the RCM will need to consider carefully. I do however welcome the openness and transparency in publishing these ratings. This is a positive step and one that could help women to be informed about the quality of services where they live, and empower them to make more informed decisions about their care.

“Hopefully these ratings will be used to help CCGs learn from the best and to improve quality where that is shown to be needed. There is of course already a great deal of work going on to implement the recommendations of the National Maternity Review in England. It will be important that improvements emerging from this process feed into that work if we are to ensure learning across the whole system.

“I am concerned about the number of services requiring improvement, and about the variations in care and outcomes for women and their babies, shown in areas such as stillbirth rates.  Poorly performing services need to be addressing this variation very urgently. I do also recognise also that some of this is older data and that improvements may have been made since then.

“Services are though up against huge cost savings being demanded from the Government, whilst also facing rising demands on their services, leaving them too often under resourced and under-staffed. This is not just about learning from each other to ensure all are performing well, it is also about resourcing services adequately.”

To contact the RCM Press Office call 020 7312 3456 or email pressofficer@rcm.org.uk.

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Notes to editors

The RCM is the only trade union and professional association dedicated to serving midwifery and the whole midwifery team. We provide workplace advice and support, professional and clinical guidance and information, and learning opportunities with our broad range of events, conferences and online resources. For more information visit the RCM website at https://www.rcm.org.uk/.