News & opinion
A call for change – A new national approach is needed to improve the safety of maternity and neonatal services
“Too many women, babies and families are being let down”. These are the words of the Independent investigation of the NHS in England, published by Lord Darzi in September 2024. But they could have been written at any point in the last decade or more. Back in 2016 the Department of Health’s Safer Maternity Care action plan declared that “now is the time for all those caring for and supporting new and expectant mothers and their babies to come together …
Joint Policy Unit response to the 10 year health plan consultation
The Joint Policy Unit has responded to the Change NHS consultation, which will inform a new 10 year plan for the NHS in England …
What do you think needs to change to deliver safer maternity and neonatal services?
We are undertaking work to identify what is needed to make progress on key themes from previous reports and reviews into the safety of maternity and neonatal services …
When to contact maternity services? Sands and Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit finds too much variation in advice.
Research by the Sands and Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit has found concerning levels of variation across the advice for women and birthing people given by NHS trusts in England on contacting maternity triage in early labour – highlighting the need for consistent guidance around contacting triage, as well as clear information about the care people are entitled to …
The new government must commit to transformative change to save more babies’ lives
The single word title of the Labour manifesto was ‘change’. There are few areas where transformative change is more needed than in maternity and neonatal services …