In a statement responding to the Health Secretary’s announcement today of a package of measures aimed at improving safety in maternity care, Birthrights CEO Rebecca Schiller said:
“Birthrights welcomes innovation and investment in maternity care. We are particularly pleased to see the Health Secretary’s commitment to the Better Birth report’s recommendation that a ‘rapid redress and resolution’ compensation system is introduced. We frequently see the negative impact of a culture of fear on healthcare practitioners, and the women they care for, and believe that this new model has the potential to improve transparency and practice in maternity care as well as the lives of people whose babies are damaged during birth.
Investment in maternity care is desperately needed but we are concerned that a narrow focus on ‘safety’, at the expense of a maternity system that enables midwives and doctors to provide respectful, personalised care, will not deliver the high-quality, safe service we need for all women in England. We urge those taking this initiative forwards to ensure that the vision of the National Maternity Review, which recognises that safe care is only possible in a system that wraps around the individual women, remains a key driver for positive change.“