Expectant mums reassured again over maternity care

Tuesday 10 April 2018

Pregnant women are being reassured again about the level of care they will receive under Guernsey's Health and Social Care services.

The HSC President has said the committee is "resolute in its determination to continue supporting maternity services to ensure the significant improvements seen in recent years are maintained" following concerns raised by one mother recently.

Deputy Heidi Soulsby said she was "moved to reassure expectant parents and the community about the standard of maternity care offered locally" and she has reiterated again the "substantial investment and improvements" that have been made in maternity services locally since a report by the Nursing and Midwifery Council raised concerns in 2014.

Following the implementation of an action plan to address the concerns raised, the NMC re-visited the island in November 2016 before confirming "major improvements had been made", adding that it saw "no need for further visits to monitor the standard of care provided." HSC has said it "does, however, maintain regular dialogue with the NMC via the island’s Chief Nurse, which is a post that did not exist prior to 2014."

This reassurance, which has been offered in the past and is being repeated today, follows concerns raised by one mother this week following the birth of her child. Deputy Soulsby said the Committee was always concerned to learn of any patient who does not believe their care reached the high standards the community rightly expects:

"Such cases are, unfortunately, unavoidable from time-to-time given the nature of the work our dedicated teams carry out. It is absolutely right that every service user has the ability and confidence to submit a complaint and we have a robust process for dealing with them. However, I am of course concerned by any suggestion of problems beyond individual cases, as we do not believe that is an accurate description and left unchallenged it has the potential to damage trust and confidence in the vital services our staff provide."

Deputy Soulsby added that services have been improved in recent years and improvements continue to be made: "The maternity services of today are not comparable with that of several years ago. Significant investment in the number of staff, and skill mix, was made in 2015 and 2016. Three extra consultant obstetricians were also employed to facilitate a consultant obstetrician on duty based on Loveridge Ward at all times. There are now an extra 12.7 full-time equivalent midwifery staff working in maternity services compared to 2015. This facilitates an experienced midwife to take the role of unit co-ordinator on every shift. This meets best practice standards for safe maternity care. Resources, in terms of staff, on Loveridge Ward far exceed the levels you would see in many UK NHS hospitals."

HSC said it is conscious that pregnant women or their partners may be concerned about yesterday’s media report relating to maternity services. If you are concerned about individual circumstances then you should contact Elaine Torrance on 707430 or email elaine.torrance@gov.gg