Dr Edile Murdoch appointed as chair and Dr Bill Kirkup appointed as special advisor of new Maternity and Neonatal Outcomes Group.

NHS England has today announced that Dr Edile Murdoch has been appointed as the chair of a new national Maternity and Neonatal Outcomes Group.

Dr Murdoch will be supported in her role by Dr Bill Kirkup who will act as a special adviser.

Bill Kirkup’s Reading the Signals report reinforced the improvements we know must be implemented across the NHS to make England the safest in the world for women to give birth. The report identified the need for improved outcomes data and the establishment of a taskforce to drive the introduction of maternity and neonatal outcome measures capable of differentiating signals to identify significant trends and outliers.

The Maternity and Neonatal Outcomes Group will ensure effective outcome measures identify early signals of changes in activity and programme delivery and national action is put in place.

Dr Edile Murdoch is a Consultant Neonatologist in NHS Lothian and has a wealth of experience in delivering improvements in maternity and neonatal care. She chairs a wide range of groups and has experience in external reviews of maternity and neonatal services across the UK.

She holds a number of additional roles including chair of the Scottish Perinatal Network Significant Adverse Event Group, chair of the BAPM Perinatal palliative care working group, and is a clinical reviewer for RCPCH’s Invited Reviews Programme. She is also a communications tutor for the Effective Communication for Health Programme.

Dr Kirkup has led investigations into public service failures, including the independent investigation to review the management, delivery and outcomes of care provided by the maternity and neonatal services of the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust between January 2004 and June 2013, and, most recently, the independent investigation into maternity and neonatal services at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust.

Dame Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England, said: “Dr Bill Kirkup’s investigation into maternity and neonatal services at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust found that a failure to identify signals in maternity services contributed to poor outcomes.

“The introduction of the Maternity and Neonatal Outcomes Group will ensure effective outcome measures are in place to ensure the right support is targeted and rapid improvements are made.

“As the NHS in England moves forward with implementing the Three Year Delivery Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Services, Dr Murdoch and Dr Kirkup’s extensive experience will be extremely valuable in leading this taskforce.”

Membership of the group will include stakeholders from across the NHS and its partner organisations and service user voice representation.