Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress each NHS Trust providing maternity services has made on implementing each of the immediate and essential actions set out in the Final report of the Ockenden review, published on 30 March 2022.

All of the recommendations made by Donna Ockenden in her review into maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust in 2022 were accepted, including the requests made to the Government, the health system more widely, and the trust. Following publication of the Ockenden review, NHS England wrote to all trusts and systems asking them to deliver the recommendations and report to their public boards.

To support this delivery, the three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services brought together the immediate and essential actions from the Ockenden review with those from other reports and guidance. The National Health Service’s operational planning guidance sets out the expectation that trusts should implement the key actions from the plan. In accordance with the NHS operating framework, it is for integrated care boards to oversee local progress with this. The technical guidance which accompanies the plan sets out how we are monitoring progress at a national level.

The plan aims to grow the maternity workforce, develop a culture of safety, and ensure women receive safe, compassionate care across the country. NHS England is in the second year of delivery, and progress has been made across the four themes to improve outcomes and experiences for women and their babies.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust has seen a significant improvement in overall midwifery staffing levels. The trust has enhanced its senior and specialist midwifery teams to provide additional leadership, expert advice, and support for women and families, as well as the clinical teams. The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust now has in place robust training programmes that equip the maternity workforce with up-to-date skills, training, and development, including in the management of emergency scenarios.