Almost £35 million will be invested to improve maternity safety
across England with the recruitment of additional midwives and
the expansion of specialist training to thousands of extra
healthcare workers.
The investment, which was announced as part of the Spring Budget, will be
provided over the next three years to ensure maternity services
listen to and act on women’s experiences to improve
care.
The funding includes:
-
£9 million for the roll out the Reducing Brain Injury
programme across maternity units in England to
provide healthcare workers with the tools and training to
reduce avoidable brain injuries in childbirth.
-
Investment in training to ensure the NHS
workforce has the skills needed to
provide ever-safer maternity care. An additional 6,000 clinical
staff will be trained in neonatal resuscitation and we will
almost double the number of clinical staff receiving specialist
training in obstetric medicine in England.
-
Increasing the number of midwives by
funding 160 new posts over three years to support the growth of
the maternity and neonatal workforce.
-
Funding to support the rollout of Maternity and
Neonatal Voice Partnerships to improve how
women’s experiences and views are listened to and acted on to
improve care.
Ahead of Mother’s Day, the Health and Social Care Secretary
visited Cambridge University Hospital. She spoke with health
experts from the hospital and microbiology faculty about a range
of women’s health issues, including maternity care and breast
cancer.
Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said:
“I want every mother to feel safe when giving birth to their
baby.
“Improving maternity care is a key cornerstone of our Women’s
Health Strategy and with this investment we are delivering on
that priority – more midwives, specialist training in
obstetric medicine and pushing to improve how women are listened
to in our healthcare system.
“£35 million is going directly to improving the safety and
care in our maternity wards and will move us closer to our goal
of making healthcare faster, simpler and fairer for all.”
This investment follows a recent announcement of a new set
of Women’s Health Strategy
priorities for 2024, which include:
- Better care for menstrual and gynaecological
conditions
- Expanding women’s health hubs to improve women’s access to
care
- Tackling disparities and improving support for vulnerable
women including victims of sexual abuse and violence
- Bolstering maternity care, before during and after pregnancy
by continuing to deliver on NHS England’s 3-year delivery plan for
maternity and neonatal services and focusing on
preconception and postnatal care for women, raising awareness
of pregnancy sickness and actioning the recommendations set out
in the Pregnancy Loss
Review.
- Investment into more research in women’s health and improving
how women are represented in medical research
Minister for the Women’s Health Strategy, ,
said:
“This extra funding will help clinicians deliver the best care
for expecting mothers and improve maternity safety.
“I especially welcome the expansion of posts for midwives, who
play a crucial role in delivering babies safely and caring for
expectant mother pre- and postnatally.
“Crucially, as part of this investment, we’re also rolling out a
training programme to prevent avoidable brain injuries in
childbirth.”
As part of the government’s commitment to action the
recommendation of the Pregnancy Loss Review, the Baby Loss Certificate
Service launched last month to allow parents who
experienced a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks to apply for a
certificate to acknowledge their loss. Since the launch of the
service, as of 4 March, the total number of completed requests
was 37,268.
Chief Midwifery Officer for England Kate Brintworth
said:
“We are focused on ensuring that women receive the safest
high-quality care before, during and after their pregnancy.
“The rollout of Maternity and Neonatal Voice Partnerships is an
important step in improving care by listening to women's views
and experiences and acting upon them.
“Our workforce must also have the right skills for improving
maternity safety and this investment helps ensure all those
working in maternity services in England have the tools and
training to reduce avoidable brain injuries in childbirth.
“We will continue our plans to grow the midwifery workforce and
nearly double the number of staff who have received specialist
training in obstetric medicine in England.”
Notes to editors
