Surrey hospital boss joins maternity taskforce
The expert panel will work to implement the recommendations of a national probe into NHS maternity services
An expert panel, including a hospital boss from Surrey, will work “swiftly” to implement the recommendations of a national probe into NHS maternity services as soon as they are published, according to Wes Streeting.
The group, chaired by the Health Secretary, includes top nurses and midwives, specialist doctors, charity bosses and international experts.
It also includes several people whose babies have died due to NHS maternity failings.
The Government has finalised the membership of the Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce ahead of the final report from the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation (NMNI) in June.
The review, which is examining services at 12 NHS trusts, was ordered by Mr Streeting last June.
He said: “I ordered an independent national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services to make sure families harmed by maternity care get the truth and accountability they deserve.
“Baroness Amos will deliver on this vital work this June but to deliver truly meaningful change – so that other families do not face the ordeals too many are already enduring – we must be ready to act swiftly.
“This 17-strong taskforce will start work straight away, so we will be ready to drive improvement from the moment the investigation’s recommendations are published.
“At the same time, we’re continuing to invest millions in schemes that are working to deliver safer and more equitable maternity care to benefit families today.”
Along with the Health Secretary, members of the taskforce include:
– Health minister Baroness Merron
– Duncan Burton, chief nursing officer for England
– Helen Gittos, who lost her baby Harriet in 2014
– Gary Andrews, whose daughter Wynter died in 2019
– Cathy Brewster, co-founder of advocacy group Voices for Choices
– Lauren Caulfield, whose daughter Grace died in the days before her birth in 2022
– Habib Naqvi, chief executive of the NHS Race and Health Observatory
– Nina Johns, consultant obstetrician and clinical director at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
– Helen Cheyne, professor of maternal and child health research at the University of Stirling and professor of midwifery at the Royal College of Midwives (Scotland)
– Avey Bhatia, chief nurse at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, co-lead on patient safety and clinical governance
– Louise Stead, chief executive of Ashford and St Peter’s and Royal Surrey NHS foundation trusts
– Gill Walton, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives
– Alison Wright, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
– Representatives of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health or British Association of Perinatal Medicine
– Clea Harmer, chief executive of Sands
– Helene Normann, senior adviser and chief midwifery officer at the Norwegian Directorate of Health
Mr Streeting will chair regular roundtables with the new taskforce from next week.
Ms Gittos, taskforce family representative and chairwoman of the family expert reference group, said: “No-one can be in any doubt about the scale and seriousness of the problems in maternity services.
“I look forward to working with Wes Streeting to ensure that the changes that are so urgently needed are properly implemented.”
Baroness Valerie Amos, who is leading the NMNI, published her interim report last month.
She claims that families and staff see the same issues repeated “time and time again”, with numerous reviews making recommendations.
“This cycle must stop,” Lady Amos said.
She pointed to six factors contributing to pressures on the maternity system, including shortages of staff, capacity issues, culture and leadership, racism and discrimination, lack of accountability when things go wrong and the poor condition of NHS hospitals and buildings.
Lady Amos’s team has met hundreds of family members and heard from thousands of people, including NHS staff, through a public call for evidence, which closes on Tuesday March 17.