Scotland's Maternity Crisis - The changes patients want to see
Staffing pressures viewed as key source of problems
The hundreds of complaints being made about maternity and neonatal services in Scotland span the often traumatic experiences of ordinary families during what should be one of the momentous moments in their lives. As part of its Scotland’s Maternity Crisis series, The Scotsman has been speaking to some of those affected, but so too has Scotland’s national healthcare quality body.
Over a series of in-person and online meetings, Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) has been gathering the views of people who have accessed maternity services, with the insight designed to feed into the nationwide independent review announced by the Scottish government.
The findings make clear the need for improvement, with the overarching conclusion being that people do not want entirely new models of care; they just want services to consistently deliver the fundamentals well.
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The challenges identified included long waiting times - including triage waits of up to eight or nine hours - inconsistent support, gaps in communication and coordination, and reduced continuity of care. All could be linked back to one major issue - staffing pressures. Indeed, HIS report described it as a “root cause” impacting safety and quality.
The former patients made clear that they want enhanced communication, both for women who are giving birth and their families, coupled with improved postnatal support, including opportunities for birth debriefs, physiotherapy, and specialist services.
Another area flagged in the report was how maternity services respond when care falls short. The participants in the HIS exercise, who spanned seven health board areas across Scotland, underlined the need for accountability, with incidents investigated, errors acknowledged, and details of how lessons are being learned.
But perhaps the most telling ask from those who took part was a desire to be part of the changes in how maternity services are run. The report noted that they wanted to be in an “ongoing partnership” as opposed to “one-off consultations,” with a dedicated contact point for feedback, and education sessions from staff.
It remains to be seen the extent to which the independent review will take on board the experiences of those who have used NHS Scotland’s maternity services, but they have made their wishes clear.
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