Maternity Services (Hansard, 15 July 1992)

§ Dr. Mawhinney

The Government have today published their response to the Health Committee's second report on the national health service maternity services.

Pregnancy, childbirth and the early months of life are no longer the hazardous experiences they were in times past. The record speaks for itself. The rate of perinatal and infant mortality is at the lowest level ever. Maternal deaths are now very rare indeed. More premature babies are saved than ever before. Doctors, midwives and nurses can justifiably be proud of the services they give.

The Government have a responsibility for ensuring that women receive the best possible maternity care. We also believe that the service must be sensitive to the views of those who use it, that women are empowered to take decisions about their care. The Government will maintain the high level of service in the NHS and will make improvements where these are necessary. Central to these objectives are:

the patients charter which makes the needs and wishes of those who use the health service paramount;
the improvements in care resulting from the confidential inquiries into maternal deaths and into stillbirths and deaths in infancy;
the target setting and performance monitoring carried out by the NHS management executive to maintain and raise standards of health care.

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In the response to the Health Committee, the Government have announced two new initiatives:

the setting up of a maternity services task force to disseminate information widely in the NHS about good practice in the management of health care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period;
to appoint an expert committee to review policy on care during childbirth and to be chaired by a woman independent of professions involved.

Membership of the expert committee will include strong representation from women who use the service. The expert committee's job will be to make recommendations about arrangements for care, taking full account of the shift in the attitudes of many women in favour of a more homely and less technological setting for care while not compromising the safety of mothers and babies. The committee's considerations will include birth at home.

In all the activities associated with care during pregnancy and childbirth, the woman should be properly informed and able to participate fully in the decisions that are taken. This is common ground between the Government and the Health Committee. The NHS reforms and the patients charter are the means for achieving these ends.