The Prime Minister needs to signal a change on maternity care
The country needs a reset when it comes to maternity care with various failings proving that shortcomings are becoming far too frequent.
Highly respected senior midwife Donna Ockenden is leading a review into maternity and neonatal services at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
The brave families that have pushed for the inquiry did so with the hope that it would give hope to bereaved families in other parts of the country as well.
It is clearly not just an issue in Leeds. Life-altering childbirth injuries reached a record high in the first half of this year.
Fixing maternity care needs to be at the top of the NHS’s priorities. How expectant mothers and newborn children are cared for says a lot about a society.
Britain must strive for perfection when it comes to neonatal and maternity care. While it isn’t always possible to reach those lofty standards, it is a laudable ambition that the health service should be aiming for.
Conversely, the highlighting of failures must not lead to the vilification and demonisation of all those midwives and doctors who continue to go above and beyond the call of duty.
At the very least, Prime Minister Andy Burnham should meet bereaved families in Leeds who have lost babies as a result of failings in maternity care.
As Lauren Caulfield, one of the mothers who led the campaign for a review, says “It’s essential for him to take an interest in maternity and women’s health to show it is serious, it is something that matters, to show the health service that this is a national scandal.”
By taking a direct interest in the issue, rather than just leaving it to his Health Secretary, the PM would signal to the families that his Government is serious about addressing the failings in maternity care.