The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) welcomes the Maternity Neonatal Safety Support Programme Cymru Discovery Phase report.
The report sets out the findings of the first phase of a national programme to strengthen and improve the maternity and neonatal services in Wales. At its core, this programme strives to ensure that services for mothers, babies and their families continually improve to ensure care is always high quality, equitable and safe. A number of priorities for action are highlighted, including leadership, staffing levels, training, education, interdisciplinary team working, evidence based interventions and support for families.
Mrs Geeta Kumar, Vice President for Clinical Quality at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said:
“We welcome the publication of this important plan and are committed to supporting our members in Wales to deliver the priorities set out. It was also heartening to read the examples of excellence in clinical practice in the report, including multidisciplinary approaches to care provision, creating environments for learning and use of innovative digital resources.
“We know our members work tirelessly to ensure that those who are pregnant and their babies receive the compassionate, personalised maternity care. However, the NHS is under incredible pressure, and the College continues to call for the investment needed to train, retain and recruit more staff within our speciality.”
To read the Maternity Neonatal Safety Support Programme Cymru Discovery Phase report, click here.
Information on the work the RCOG is delivering to improve maternity safety:
Maternity safety is a key priority area for the College and we continue to work in partnership with the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) on a range of initiatives focused on improving safety. These include our Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth (ABC) programme, which is expected to take us a step closer to reducing adverse perinatal outcomes and promote safer practice. Our Tommy’s digital clinical support tool will help identify pregnant women at high risk of preterm birth or developing complications that could lead to stillbirth.
The College publishes clinical guidance to support safe and effective clinical practice. To set our future direction of work in this important area, the College is also developing a new maternity safety ambition.
As joint chairs of the Independent Maternity Working Group, alongside the RCM, we provide support and guidance to those responsible for funding and implementing maternity safety improvements, to drive change across the sector.