25/01/2008

Maternity Care 'Worst' In London

Maternity care in the NHS is failing too many mothers and babies.

A new report has found that many maternity units in England are not providing top quality care – with London the worst performing.

The independent review from the Healthcare Commission found huge variation in quality of care across England with women in London receiving the worst service.

The report also highlighted problems with staffing and inadequate screening checks in some trusts.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson has announced extra funding for maternity services over the next three years.

It is the first time such a wide-ranging review of maternity services has been carried out.

Just over a quarter of the 148 trusts assessed were classed as "best performing" on 25 factors which included screening tests, ante-natal care and midwife support.

But 21% of trusts fell into the "least well performing" category.

In London, antenatal and postnatal care tended to be consistently poorer, with women not having as many checks as recommended, and inconsistent quality of care around the time of birth.

In contrast, in the North, 33 out of 44 trusts were ranked as "better performing" or "best performing".

(BMcC)


Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

19 August 2004
Ambulance call-outs to be tailored to patients' need
Patients with non-urgent conditions who dial 999 will not automatically be sent an ambulance, but may instead receive treatment at home or from other healthcare professionals, under changes announced today by Health Minister Rosie Winterton.
31 March 2010
Labour Launches Free Elderly Care
Labour had unveiled plans for a radical shake-up to NHS care for the old and disabled. Health Secretary Andy Burnham laid out plans that would see a universal free care package for everyone in England. It had been described as the biggest change to the welfare state since the creation of the NHS.
14 May 2015
£18m Funding For Health Research In Wales
A number of significant research projects into cancer, public health, primary and emergency care, as well as mental health are to benefit from an £18m by the Welsh Government, it has been announced.
04 July 2011
Fairer Adult Social Care Funding Sought
Costs would be capped and the means-tested threshold increased under major changes to the funding of adult social care in England, recommended today by the Commission on Funding of Care and Support in its final report Fairer Care Funding.
01 April 2009
New Law To Strengthen Protection Of Vulnerable People
Some of the most vulnerable people in society will be better protected against abuse and poor care as a result of new legislation coming into force today. People who lack capacity in hospitals and care homes will now be protected by a new law nown as the 'Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards'.