Review of Maternity Services

The Health and Social Security Panel is undertaking in-depth review of the Island's maternity services. The Panel's aim is to identify whether any areas of the current provision could be improved to better meet the needs of women, their partners and their babies.

 The Panel will be writing to various stakeholders to gather evidence that will assist its review, as well as inviting submissions from members of the public. Their review will explore:

• The appropriateness and adequacy of the current maternity facilities in the General Hospital and the planned upgrade
• The availability and suitability of antenatal (including pregnancy loss) and perinatal mental health care
• The safety and effectiveness of care delivered during antennal (before birth), intrapartum (labour) and postnatal (after birth) stages of pregnancy
• Whether women are able to make safe and appropriate choices about the maternity care that's right for them and their babies
• How maternity services can be improved to meet the needs of families
• The impact of Covid-19 on the provision of maternity services
  

The Panel presented its final report on Tuesday 6th July and can be read in 'Publications' below.

You can read the Digital Summary Report here.

Please note the report below has been updated since publication to replace a typographical error on p.81.

1. To assess current maternity care provision, with particular regard to the following:
   

• Suitability and adequacy of current maternity facilities
• Availability and quality of antenatal and perinatal mental health care
• Safety and effectiveness of care provided during the antenatal (before birth), intrapartum (labour) and postnatal (after the birth) stages of pregnancy
• Appropriateness of current policies, relating to maternity services, and their application
• Experiences of women, fathers/second partners, support partners and families.
• Ability for women to make safe and appropriate choices of maternity care for themselves and their babies
• Availability of sufficient manpower/resources/skills to deliver the best care.
  

2. To determine the impact of COVID-19 on the provision of maternity services and the resulting effect on mothers, fathers/second partners, support partners and families.
   

3. To consider how current maternity care provision could be improved to better meet the needs of mothers, fathers/second partners and their babies.