A new report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) shows has found a continued decline in experiences of maternity services over the past five years.
The 2022 maternity survey by the CQC, England’s health and social care regulator, shows that people's experiences of care have deteriorated since 2017, with the availability of staff, confidence and trust in services, and communication with staff all getting worse.
Nearly half of the 20,927 women and birthing people who gave birth in England across February 2022 took part in the survey.
Sands and Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit responds
The Sands and Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit was set up to identify the key changes needed to save babies lives, reduce inequalities and improve outcomes for families, and ensure that decision makers are informed and accountable for improving maternity care.
“The results of this survey should be a wake-up call for government and the NHS. While some areas have improved since the pandemic, fundamental issues around trust in care, getting help when needed and having concerns taken seriously are still getting worse.
“This continued decline is unacceptable. We need much stronger commitments from government to put in place the funding, workforce and systems to ensure safe, personalised maternity care. This is vital if the government is going to achieve its ambitions to reduce rates of stillbirth, pre-term birth and neonatal death.”
- Rob Wilson, Head of Sands and Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit
It is particularly concerning that there has been a downward trend since 2017 for women and other pregnant people saying that if they raised a concern during labour and birth, they felt it was taken seriously. Listening to women is fundamental to the delivery of safe care.
"Sands has been urging the CQC to seek the views of bereaved parents so it is disappointing to see that their voices are excluded from this maternity survey. It is vital that steps are taken in future surveys to capture the experience of care received by parents that have lost a baby.
"Both Donna Ockenden and Bill Kirkup made clear in their reviews of maternity services, the vital importance of listening to parents in order to improve safety and save babies' lives."
- Clea Harmer, Sands' Chief Executive
The NHS is currently developing a new 'delivery plan' for maternity and neonatal services. The CQC findings highlight the need for fundamental change.
There must be a commitment to properly evaluate the systems and processes we currently have in place for supporting improvements in the safety of maternity services.
Key findings from the Maternity Survey
The CQC survey did indicate some small improvements in mental health support during and after pregnancy but concludes that there remains room for further improvement.
In 2022 only 63% of women and birthing people said they were ‘always’ able to get a member of staff to help them when they needed attention during labour and birth, compared to 72% in 2019.
Two-thirds (69%) of women and birthing people said they ‘definitely’ had confidence and trust in the staff delivering their antenatal care.
And 77% of women and birthing people said that if they raised a concern during labour and birth, they felt it was taken seriously - down from 81% in 2017.
What this means for maternity safety
This latest survey adds to the body of evidence that maternity services are struggling to provide safe care. In October 2022 Sands joined with the All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) on Baby Loss and Maternity in urging the Government to commit to safer staffing in maternity services.
In November, the Government committed to hiring an extra 2,000 midwives in England and to a long-term and independently verified workforce plan.
However, the Government has not yet specified how the extra 2,000 midwives will be recruited nor a timeline for the publishing of the workforce plan. Sands will be monitoring the Government’s progress to ensure that they are implemented.
Sands is here to support you
Sands offers support and training to midwives, and other healthcare workers, to ensure they have the skills they need to both care for bereaved families, and to look after their own wellbeing.
We are here to support anyone affected by pregnancy loss or the death of a baby, however recently or longer ago, for as long as they need this.
Read the full survey findings on the Care Quality Commission website