Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a nationally accredited and mandatory placenta accreta spectrum training programme for sonographers, obstetricians and relevant maternity staff.

The Department and NHS England expect midwives, sonographers, and obstetricians to follow national guidance described by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists for the diagnosis and management of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS). There are no plans to introduce mandatory training for all sonographers and obstetricians in how to diagnose PAS.

In the instance of women delivering with PAS, surgeons and anaesthetists in all obstetric hospitals are trained to deal with complex operative findings as well as the management of post-partum haemorrhage. This will be strengthened further through the implementation of the recently published Maternal Care Bundle, which includes an element focussed on optimal management of obstetric haemorrhage.