Healthcare Commission Report

Released on 25/01/2008

Mary Newburn, Head of Policy Research, NCT, said,

“The NCT is very concerned about the findings in this report and the huge North South divide in maternity care provision in England, with 70 per cent London trusts rated as the ‘least well performing’.

"Women can be emotionally traumatised by a lack of support when they are in labour or coping with a new baby, and can be left needing months of physical or psychological recovery with long-term scars.

"Improved woman-centred maternity care, clinical effectiveness, and promotion of public health should now be a much higher priority for the Government. It is vital that maternity services enhance the positive well-being of the woman and her baby and the wider family, while minimising any harm caused by the way the service is run.”

 

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Notes to Editors

1. The Healthcare Commission report surveyed the maternity care experiences of over 26,000 women in 2007.

2. The NCT is concerned about several findings of the maternity care experiences:

   • The number of women who were left alone during labour is unacceptably high. One to one support improves a woman's experience and outcomes

   • The number of women who described their postnatal care as 'fair' or 'poor' is also too high. New mothers need support at this challenging time.

   • Only 57 per cent of women were offered the choice to have a home birth. If the government is to meet its target of offering choice to all women, then much needs to be done to improve this figure

   • A third of women were not offered antenatal classes. If women and their partners are to feel well prepared and informed about birth, it's vital they have the opportunity to attend classes.

3. The NCT believes this is an important report as it provides detail on how maternity services are delivered by individual NHS trusts and the variation between services, as well as providing a more detailed overall picture than was available previously.

4. There are many areas in maternity care where improvement is needed in order to meet the good practice described in National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services and the Government's choice guarantees set out in Maternity Matters.

 

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