Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Twins Trust Maternity Engagement Project in reducing (a) perinatal deaths and (b) neonatal admissions; and what steps he is taking to encourage trusts not currently involved in that project to make improvements in their care.

The Department provided grant funding for the Twins Trust Maternity Engagement Project which provided evidence that implementing National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance on managing twin and multiple pregnancies can significantly reduce twin stillbirths, neonatal deaths and neonatal admissions. The two year evaluation demonstrated an 18% reduction in neonatal deaths, a 7% reduction in stillbirths, a 23% reduction in neonatal admissions, and a 6% reduction in emergency caesarean sections.

Based on the evidence generated through the Engagement Project, the Saving Babies’ Lives care bundle (version two) strongly encourages providers and commissioners to implement NICE guidance and stipulates best practice for multiple pregnancies.

The NHS Long Term Plan, published in January 2019, highlights our aim to roll out the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle (version two) across every maternity unit in England in 2019.