NHS maternity care must improve

10 Jul 08
The NHS needs to 'redouble' its efforts to improve care for women having babies, the Healthcare Commission said this week.

11 July 2008

The NHS needs to 'redouble' its efforts to improve care for women having babies, the Healthcare Commission said this week.

Following a major review of maternity services, the health watchdog published seven recommendations. These include ensuring maternity wards are properly staffed, gathering and acting on patient experience and encouraging more team working.

Launching the report at a conference on maternity services in Birmingham on July 10, commission chair Sir Ian Kennedy said the messages could not be ignored. 'There is clearly more to be done to improve the quality of clinical care, as well as the experiences of women,' he said.

Kennedy commissioned the review after the HC carried out three investigations into deaths at maternity units in two years.

He urged health professionals to seize the opportunity to improve services. 'I don't want to [read] another report into high death rates at a maternity unit. I don't want our investigators to be again describing to a young family what happened to their mum,' he said.

 

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