Swansea Bay independent maternity and neonatal review: update from Margaret Bowron KC, 12/06/2024

I am pleased today to announce the formal publication of the Terms of Reference which have been updated in the light of views from parents and staff, captured during the listening period. I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to feed into this important process. The final Terms of Reference can be accessed here. In finalising the Terms of Reference, I have worked closely with experts on the Oversight Panel, and the experts in clinical review, patient and staff engagement and governance who will now undertake the strands of work in the Review. I want to reiterate that this work has been completed entirely independently of Swansea Bay University Health Board (“SBUHB”). The listening period was useful to capture input from family and staff on a diverse range of issues including the inclusion of events beyond those described in detail in the Terms of Reference, the need to capture good as well as poor patient experience, the definitional criteria and timeframes of cases falling within the Review, and the Duty of Candour.

The important work of the Review will now commence. In the coming days, weeks and months there will be many opportunities for patients to tell their stories and to self-refer to the Review. A dedicated landing page is being set up which can be used as a way to refer into the Review. Details of this will follow. This is being hosted by Niche Consulting, who are again entirely independent of SBUHB. 

Whilst the Review is ongoing if you would welcome any support Llais (the independent patient advocate body) are available to offer this and can be contacted on:

E: maternityexperience@llaiscymru.org

T:  01639 683490