Statement from Swansea Bay UHB Chair and Chief Executive following the publishing of the Nottingham Maternity Independent Review
We have all read the deeply distressing findings of the Independent Review of Maternity Services in Nottingham. There are echoes in the findings of those in the Family Review, Llais Review and our Independent Review that all reported last year.
We want to acknowledge the impact yesterday’s report may have had on the families in the Swansea Bay Area who experienced a devastating outcome because of care we provided that did not meet the standards expected. If any of the women who are currently using our services, or who have done so in the past, want to raise any concerns with us, we would encourage them to do so. The contact details are at the end of this statement.
The Board is implementing a Perinatal Improvement Plan, overseen by a Perinatal Improvement Programme Board. Our Perinatal Committee is now well established and reports to every public Board meeting. We recognise that we still have more to do to ensure that our perinatal services consistently meet the standards expected; we are very grateful to the women and families who are continuing to engage with us and inform our improvement work. We would like to acknowledge the progress that our teams are making and their commitment to delivering the highest quality care we can for every woman and every baby.
The Independent Oversight Panel remains in place and continues to provide critical feedback on the progress we are making with refining and implementing our improvement plan. The Panel recently spent two days visiting our services and will be reporting back shortly on their assessment of our progress. We will report progress on our Improvement Plan in detail in our July Board meeting, when Board members will sign off the final plan, and set out the arrangements for continued oversight of the improvement programme.
In relation to the Nottingham Independent Report and the report from Baroness Amos expected shortly, we will be reviewing the findings and recommendations and cross referencing them with our Independent Review and the Welsh Government national assessment. We will ensure that any gaps or issues relevant to our improvement programme are explicitly referenced in our final Plan in July.
We would like to take this opportunity to apologise again to the women, babies and families who experienced poor care in our services, and for the devastating and lifechanging outcomes that some women and families experienced. As a Board, we remain fully committed to continuing to strengthen how we listen to women and families, to continuing to learn and to improve.
If you have any questions or concerns about the care that you previously received from Swansea Bay’s maternity services, please email SBU.MaternityEnquiries@wales.nhs.uk or call 01639 684440.
If you are currently receiving care and need advice or support, you can call 01792 517904. Follow this link for further information on our maternity services and contact details.
Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth a galwadau ffôn yn y Gymraeg neu'r Saesneg. Atebir gohebiaeth Gymraeg yn y Gymraeg, ac ni fydd hyn yn arwain at oedi. Mae’r dudalen hon ar gael yn Gymraeg drwy bwyso’r botwm ar y dde ar frig y dudalen.
We welcome correspondence and telephone calls in Welsh or English. Welsh language correspondence will be replied to in Welsh, and this will not lead to a delay. This page is available in Welsh by clicking ‘Cymraeg’ at the top right of this page.