Ambition for ‘safer, more responsive and more compassionate’ maternity and neonatal care

Ella Groves, ICNN Senedd Reporter

A direct route to raise concerns over the health of mothers and babies is being rolled out across the NHS, Wales’ first-ever minister dedicated to women’s health has announced.

The Call for Concern scheme gives maternity and neonatal patients, and their relatives, the means to raise urgent concerns if they feel their health, or the health of a loved one, is worsening and medical staff have not fully addressed their worries.

Announcing the scheme in the Senedd on Tuesday September 15, deputy minister for social care, mental health and women’s health Delyth Jewell said: “This is not simply about introducing a telephone number or changing documentation. It’s about culture. It’s about creating an NHS where women feel that they have been empowered to raise concerns about their own health, where parents feel confident to speak up when they are worried about their baby’s health, and where staff see those concerns as vital information for safer care.”

The Plaid Cymru member for Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni continued: “We want every woman, baby and family in Wales to receive care that is safe, that is timely, that is compassionate and that is responsive to their needs.

“We want maternity and neonatal services that act early when concerns are raised. Above all, we want women and families to know that their voices matter.”

She added: “This will not replace clinical judgement, or strong leadership, or safe services. That is not its purpose.

“But rather, it adds that vital safeguard, and gives women and families a clearer voice when they are worried. It strengthens our shared ambition for safer, more responsive and more compassionate care for women, babies and families across Wales.”

“Very simple principle”

Reform’s shadow minister for social care, Claire Archibald, shared her own experience of pregnancy loss and backed the new scheme.

She said: “As a woman, a mother of three children, and somebody who’s also experienced the loss of a pregnancy, I know just how vulnerable a woman can feel when something does not feel right.”

She told the Siambr that at the “heart” of the scheme was a “very simple principle” – listening to women.

Ms Archibald said: “When a woman says something is wrong, we listen. When a family says something has changed, we listen. And when they remain concerned, there must be somewhere else for them to turn.”

However, the Ceredigion Penfro MS pressed the minister to confirm the scheme would not end up as a “postcode lottery in patient safety”.

While several health boards had already began rollout, Ms Jewell said she was unable to provide a final date for consitent implemention across Wales.

“Transcends politics”

The deputy minister did confirm the Welsh Government would implement all recommendations from the ‘Path to Safer Beginnings’ report, commissioned under the previous Labour-led administration, and which reviewed maternity and neonatal services across Wales.

This was after questioning from Labour’s Jayne Bryant, member for Casnewydd Islwyn.

Ms Bryant said: “The voices and experiences of women and families were at the centre of that assessment, as they should be. It is their perspectives that are key to understanding the quality, safety and culture of these services.”

In her response Ms Jewell said: “We cannot get this wrong. This is something that transcends politics. This is about ensuring that more babies get the care that they need when they need it, and making sure that we learn from when things have gone so horrifically wrong.”

“Practical reality”

Conservative MS for Sir Fynwy Torfaen, Peter Fox, told the Siambr the scheme’s success would depend on the “practical reality of implementation”.

While supporting Call for Concern, he stressed the importance of informing people about how to access it.

Ms Jewell agreed that clear communication was crucial, confirming the use of leaflets, posters, and bedside materials throughout care.

But she added: “We can’t just put a poster on the wall and think, ‘Oh, well, it’s there now, people will have to read it’.

“This is a very stressful time in someone’s life, and they’re not necessarily going to be looking at the poster on the wall. That’s why it has to be embedded in the culture of the NHS.”

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