Three months into my Presidency, I want to reiterate my commitment to support and to speak up for all our membership, and particularly those currently working in maternity services at this particularly challenging and demanding time.
When I stood for President, I pledged to support our doctors as I believe this is crucial to improving maternity safety and women’s health.
Maternity services are under extreme pressures, which are felt by all of us who are frontline clinicians. Burn out, exhaustion and rota gaps mean we may not always be providing the high-quality care we would like to, and increasingly, I feel the need to reassure women that we, of course, care very much about their safety and experience.
This is why I am absolutely committed to ensuring the perspectives of our members input to the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation (NMNI) in England. The College has submitted a statement to the review, setting out the urgent need for support and investment, which you can read here.
I am taking every opportunity to engage with the NMNI review team, joining a preliminary meeting with the review team alongside the Royal College of Midwives, as well as representing our members’ views at the Maternity All Party Parliamentary Group and the Maternal Mental Health Alliance roundtable last month, both attended by Baroness Amos. The College is also holding a clinical roundtable with representatives from the review team.
My response to the NMNI interim report published at the end of February emphasised the urgent need for action and investment to deliver the improvements needed by women, families and teams. As the Secretary of State progresses with establishing the national taskforce, I will continue to advocate for focus on staffing shortages, training time, modernising equipment and estates, and improved processes for reviews when families experience harm or loss.
Recognising that across the UK, and globally, our members are facing similar pressures, I am equally committed to speaking up for our membership everywhere. Here is my response to the All-Wales Maternity and Neonatal Assurance Assessment report, welcoming plans for a long-term workforce plan, a national strategic oversight board and a joined up national perinatal leadership team.
I also want to ensure our voice informs the new Scottish maternity care standards in development. It was a pleasure to attend the Scottish Senior Staff Conference in January and to join positive conversations about how the College can best support our members there, recognising that, although health infrastructure may be different, our challenges are the same.
I, and the College, will continue to emphasise how vital it is that governments, policy leaders, and Trusts, truly listen to Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, as well as to women and families, to ensure a truly 360 perspective. Your voices and your solutions must be heard.
Meanwhile, the College will continue to deliver our initiatives to strengthen the profession for the future. The RCOG Surgical Skills Project is a great example, placing surgical excellence at the centre of training and professional development. We recently published our Dual-Operating and Continuing Surgical Professional Development guidance, setting out a clear framework for maintaining and advancing surgical skills, with thanks to our brilliant clinical fellows who are pioneering this work.
Sustaining high-quality surgical care requires systems that enable development. Mentorship, protected time for dual-operating, access to simulation and courses, and recognition of surgical CPD within job planning, are investments in safety, workforce morale and retention. At a time of challenge, reinforcing surgical confidence and competence is a positive and essential step forward for our patients and for our profession.
You all have my heartfelt admiration and appreciation for the work you continue to do, under extremely challenging circumstances, and my commitment that we stand with you. Please do let me know what more your College can do to support you.
Finally, my personal message of support goes out to all our members, fellow professionals and partner organisations in the Middle East, and to those who have friends and family members in the region. We stand in solidarity with all those that risk their lives to provide care for those in need, in countries affected by war. Our College has a mission to improve the health of women and girls. We abhor violence in all forms and are committed to supporting women to access treatment and care without the threat of violence.
Please do look after yourselves, and each other.