Regarding your article “Watchdog gives maternity services a ‘wake-up call’”, which addressed the Healthcare Commission’s review into maternity services.
The review was a landmark survey and represents the scale of what needs to be done by the government to meet the guarantees it outlined in Maternity Matters, the Department of Health’s strategy for maternity services. The HCC’s review was the single most comprehensive assessment ever of maternity services in England and was based on evidence gathered throughout 2007 and uncovered “significant variations in the quality of care across the country.”
I was quoted in the article as saying “the quality of some of the data is a bit iffy”. I would like to put this comment in context and point out that I was referring to the quality of the data provided by the trusts. Anecdotal evidence we have received from a few heads of midwifery is that they were not all asked for answers to some of questions and that some data provided in the survey was not readily available, so they now have no idea where this information came from. I would not want my comment to be taken out of context and be perceived as a criticism of the HCC review, which was ground-breaking in its findings.
Louise Silverton, Deputy General Secretary, Royal College of Midwives
Dear Mr. Vize.
Regarding your article “Watchdog gives maternity services a ‘wake-up call’” (Jan. 31), which addressed the Healthcare Commission’s review into maternity services. The review was a landmark survey and represents the scale of what needs to be done by the Government to meet the guarantees it outlined in Maternity Matters, the Department of Health’s strategy for maternity services. TheHCC’s review was the single most comprehensive assessment ever of maternity services in England and was based on evidence gathered throughout 2007 and uncovered “significant variations in the quality of care across the country.”
I was quoted in the article as saying “the quality of some of the data is a bit iffy.” I would like to put this comment in context and point out that I was referring to the quality of the data provided by the Trusts. Anecdotal evidence we have received from a few Heads of Midwifery (HOMs) is that they were not all asked for answers to some of questions and that some data provided in the survey was not readily available, so they now have no idea where this information came from. I would not want my comment to be taken out of context and be perceived as a criticism of theHCCreview, which was ground-breaking in its findings.
Yours sincerely,
Louise Silverton
Deputy General Secretary
The RoyalCollegeofMidwives,15 Mansfield Street,London,W1G 9NH
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ICM28th Triennial Congress
Midwifery: a worldwide commitment to women and the newborn
Glasgow,Scotland
1 -5 June 2008
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