On Tuesday 6th November Baby Lifeline launched its new report, Mind the Gap: An investigation into Maternity Training for Frontline Professionals Accross the UK (2017/18) at the House of Commons. MPs, journalists, and representatives from NHS Resolution, the Healthcare Safety Investigations Branch (HSIB), and the Royal College of Midwives, amongst other healthcare organisations, were in attendance. The event was kindly sponsored by Dame Caroline Spelman MP, pictured above with Baby Lifeline Founder, Judy Ledger.
The report and launch event highlighted the need for urgent action in maternity care to reduce avoidable deaths and injuries, and consequent human and financial costs.
Three in four baby deaths and injuries are preventable with different care ; however, the tragic human and financial consequences of this harm continue. For over two decades, successive reports that investigated avoidable instances of harm and death have recommended training for frontline staff in targeted areas as a key way to improve outcomes. This report has surveyed the national response to these recommendations and provides the most up-to-date picture of maternity training for healthcare professionals in the UK. The gaps that have been identified must be addressed as a matter of urgency.
The report found that the biggest barriers to training provision are staffing and finance. Baby Lifeline recommends that the Government immediately reinstate on ongoing Maternity Safety Training Fund to improve staff attendance and provision of training in areas shown to reduce unnecessary harm for mothers and babies.
View the Mind the Gap 2018 infographic here.