Professor Sally Holland announced as chair of new independent panel of experts to assess all maternity and neonatal services in Wales
The Welsh government has announced the members of a new independent panel of experts assigned to evaluate the quality of maternity and neo-natal services, and provide the Health Secretary with recommendations for improvement. The panel will provide initial advice by the end of this year.
Photo by Klara Kulikova / UnsplashChairing the new assurance assessment panel is Professor Sally Holland, a leading social care academic with expertise in child and family welfare, child protection, public involvement equality, diversity and inclusion. She is also a former Children’s Commissioner for Wales.
The panel has been established in response to the findings by the independent review of Swansea Bay’s maternity services and wider concerns about other UK maternity and neonatal units. The voices and experiences of women and families will be central to this assessment.
Professor Holland will be joined on the panel by experts in matters such as family engagement, obstetrics, midwifery and neonatology, all keen to improves the quality of services. The members of the panel are:
- Sue Holden, a former nurse and midwife and now Chair of Advancing Quality Alliance (Aqua).
- Dr Jo Mountfield, a recently retired consultant obstetrician and former chair of the specialty education advisory committee at the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists.
- Dr Edile Murdoch, a consultant neonatologist at NHS Lothian Edinburgh and one of the national specialty advisors for NHS England’s maternity and neonatal programme.
- Professor Mary Renfrew, a leading health researcher with a clinical background in midwifery and was former lead adviser for the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
- Heidi Smoult, who began her career as a midwife, has experience in quality review and incident investigations, and was previously Chief Executive at Northampton General Hospital NHS and Deputy Chief Inspector at the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
- Ken Sutton, previously Director for Crime and Policing at the Home Office, and Secretary to the Independent Investigation into Maternity and Neonatal Services in East Kent.
Professor Sally Holland says: ‘Maternity and neonatal services play a crucial role in ensuring safe and positive experiences for mothers, babies and families at a time in their lives when they need the best possible care. In this assessment we will ensure that their voices and experiences are at the heart of our work, and that we identify both excellent practice and areas where improvements are urgently needed. I am looking forward to working alongside the expert panel to make sure women, babies and families receive the best care possible, wherever they live in Wales.’
Jeremy Miles MS, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, adds: ‘This assessment will scrutinise maternity and neonatal services across Wales and provide recommendations for how they can be improved. I’ve appointed this panel, which has a wealth of expertise within their respective fields, across national health services, to provide invaluable advice aiming to improve both patient care and experience. We are undertaking this assessment to gain assurances about the quality and safety of maternity and neonatal services across Wales.’
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