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National maternity review is now officially underway

NHS England has today announced the full list of members for the national maternity review, a major review of maternity services set to modernise care for women and babies across the country. The review will be led by Baroness Julia Cumberlege and its terms of reference were published last month. Here she outlines its importance:

I’m delighted that the national maternity review is now officially underway, with the membership of the core review team finalised.

We held our first meeting on 23 April. This provided us with the opportunity to think about the huge responsibility we have undertaken. We will set out to make a demonstrable difference to the experience and outcomes that women, their babies and their families can expect from maternity care in England.

We had a wide ranging and thoughtful initial discussion. Important, recurring themes included, but were not limited to, the following:

  • the importance of team working, which must be learned and assured
  • the need for care to maximise positive outcomes – both physical health and mental wellbeing-  for the mother, the baby and the family as a whole
  • the opportunities for reducing avoidable harm
  • the need to provide women with as much information as they need in order to understand and be able to make their choices
  • the importance of seamless care and the need for governance arrangements to achieve this

Most importantly, the team were clear that the success of the review will be entirely dependent on the breadth and depth of our engagement going forward. Our immediate priority will be to clearly set out how we will achieve this and ensure people can get involved.

In the meantime, if you want to be kept informed about the progress of the review, including receiving details of how you will be able to input into the review and have your voice heard, please send us your contact details to england.maternityreview@nhs.net.


National Maternity Review full list of members

  • Baroness Julia Cumberlege (Chair)
  • Sir Cyril Chantler (Vice Chair)
  • Professor Cathy Warwick, Royal College of Midwives, Chief Executive
  • Dr David Richmond, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, President
  • Annie Francis, Neighbourhood Midwives, Chief Executive
  • Sarah Noble, Consultant Midwife, Birmingham Women’s NHS Foundation Trust
  • Elizabeth Duff, NCT, Senior Policy Adviser
  • Alison Baum, Best Beginnings, Chief Executive
  • Rowan Davies, Mumsnet, Head of Policy and Campaigns
  • James Titcombe, Morecambe Bay parent and CQC adviser on safety
  • Dr Alan Fenton, Consultant Neonatal Paediatrician, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS FT
  • Professor James Walker,  Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Leeds
  • Dr Catherine Calderwood, National Clinical Director for Maternity and Women’s Health
  • Dr Jocelyn Cornwell, Point of Care Foundation, Chief Executive
  • Sir Sam Everington, Chair, Tower Hamlets CCG and board member of NHS Clinical Commissioners
  • Professor Dame Donna Kinnair, Clinical Director Emergency Department, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals
  • Melany Pickup, Chief Executive, Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Julia Cumberlege

Baroness Julia Cumberlege CBE DL was appointed a Junior Health Minister in 1992 and for five years she covered all Health and Social Services matters in the House of Lords.

She has been commissioned by two Governments to produce two national reports: “Neighbourhood Nursing – a Focus for Care” and “Changing Childbirth”.

At the invitation of the Royal College of Physicians, Julia has chaired two working parties. The first report “Doctors in Society” was published in December 2005. The second, “Future Physician, Changing Doctors in Changing Times”, was published in May 2010.

From 2000 until July 2006, Julia chaired St George’s Medical School.

6 comments

  1. Stephen Porter says:

    Disappointed that there is not one operational Consultant Obstetrician on the panel.

  2. Diane charlton says:

    Disappointed to see that there is not one operational midwife or neonatal nurse participating in this review

  3. Martin Ward Platt says:

    Cranbrook, Peel, Short, Winterton, Cumberlege 1 (“Changing Childbirth) and now we will have Cumberlege 2. What the previous reports all had in common was an unrelenting focus on the adult component of maternity and childbirth, with very little about babies except as statistics, mostly their mortality and morbidity. The composition of the current working group engenders no confidence that this time round it will be any different, in spite of the increasing recognition of the importance of the UNICEF baby friendly initiative, and the work in Special Care of BLISS. All power to Mr Titcombe and Dr Fenton: see if you can make it different this time.

  4. Deborah Evans. Managing Director West of England Academci Health Science Newtwork says:

    Very pleased to hear about the Review, and your commitment to engage is essential.
    I hope the Review will consider inequalities in outcomes in maternity care and consider what can be done about these.
    We would be very happy to invite you to the West of England to look at the work which is going on here about use of magnesium sulphate in pre term births – we think our results are in line with the best in the world.. Our partners in the South West Strategic Clincal Network are doing great work around a dashboard to focus improvement efforts, and you will already be aware of Professor Tim Draycott’s work on safety. If you re intersted in models of free standing birthing units in urban areas theres a great,recent one established at Cossham Hospital linked to North Bristol Trust. Well worth a visit

  5. diana odompleh says:

    please i will like to know if your discussion was also centred giving nurses who made their family using a surrogate maternity leave as well.

  6. Tina Perridge says:

    I am excited by the opportunity this review offers for a real change in the way maternity services are organised amd more importantly experienced. We owe women a better experience.