Speeches

Alan Whitehead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Whitehead on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the membership of the body which will oversee the proposed review of neonatal services in England; and whether that review will examine (a) admissions rates, (b) length of stay and (c) outcomes by (i) singleton and (ii) multiple pregnancies.

Mr Philip Dunne

The NHS England Maternity Review, Better Births (published February 2016), made a number of recommendations including a review of neonatal critical care. NHS England’s Women and Children’s Programme of Care and its Neonatal Critical Care Clinical Reference Group (CRG) will take this work forward. The review will focus on a number of themes and variables including admission rates, length of stay, outcomes and pregnancy profiles.

NHS England’s Women and Children’s Programme of Care Board will oversee the review and will also report progress to the Maternity Transformation Programme. The membership of the team that will oversee the review is not yet finalised, but Dr Peter Wilson, the Clinical Co-Chair of the Women and Children’s Programme of Care Board will be the Senior Responsible Officer.

Membership is also expected to include the Chair of the Neonatal Critical Care CRG Professor Neil Marlow, Lead Commissioner Natalie Hariram, and National Programme of Care Manager for Women and Children’s Services, Mary Passant, who are currently working on the scope of the review. The review team will also involve all Neonatal Care Operational Delivery Network Managers.

The Maternity Transformation Programme has asked that the review report initial findings in December 2016.