Concerns Raised In Maternity Care Report

A survey into NHS maternity services in England has revealed large variations in care in trusts across the country.

The survey of 26,000 women, carried out by the Healthcare Commission, found that more than a quarter of women reported being left alone during labour or shortly after giving birth, at a time that worried them. Guidelines issued by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) state that women should not be left alone except for short periods.

However, there were variations between different NHS Trusts, with 9% of women claiming that they were left alone at a time that worried them, compared with a third in another. In 18 of the 148 trusts in England, more than 20% of women said that they were left alone during a time that worried them.

The survey also found that more than half the women surveyed gave birth either lying down or with their legs supported in stirrups - even though the most recent NICE guidance recommends that women having normal births should be discouraged from having their baby in this position. In one trust, 44% of women reported using stirrups, while only 11% at another trust did.

Around 43% of women also said that they were not given a choice of having their baby at home, with responses across the trusts varying as widely as 8% in one trust and 76% in another.

More than a third of those surveyed (36%) said that they were not offered NHS antenatal classes, which trusts were asked to do in the government's National Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services. Again, responses varied across the trusts, with 67% saying this at one trust and 11% at another.

Nearly a fifth of women also said that hospital food was poor.

However, overall, the Commission found that the proportion of women who rated their care as "excellent", "very good" or "good" was 89% during pregnancy, 90% during labour and birth and 80% after the birth.

Anna Walker, Healthcare Commission Chief Executive, said: "Overall, women are clearly positive about maternity services. But the results do highlight specific areas of concern and wide variations with issues including postnatal care, communication, food and cleanliness.

"We expect trusts to make full use of their individual results and the opportunity to compare with others. These results show us that many trusts provide very positive services for women. Trusts with less positive results need to learn from the good performers."

Both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats criticised the government following the publication of the report. Shadow health minister Anne Milton said that the report revealed: "serious problems with the government's maternity strategy", while Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Norman Lamb said: "This survey shows the huge gap between government promises and the reality in maternity units across the country."

(KMcA)