Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what risk assessment East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust carried out on perinatal and other maternity-related deaths before removing consultant-led maternity services from that Trust area.

NHS Improvement advises that when making the decision in 2013 to consolidate consultant-led maternity services at one site, East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust considered a number of risks and mitigations, including risks to patient safety. As part of this assessment, the trust also looked at travel times.

The Government is clear that all service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients. Any changes should meet the four tests for service change: they should have support from general practitioner (GP) commissioners, be based on clinical evidence, demonstrate public and patient engagement, and consider patient choice. Implementation of the agreed service changes is a matter for the local National Health Service. It is for the local NHS to keep any service change under review, in line with its role in ensuring services provided are high quality, safe and sustainable.