Shaping future maternity and neonatal services in north east London – tell us what you think
Sent on behalf of the North East London Local Maternity and Neonatal System Chairs
Dear colleague,
We want to make sure that all babies born in north east London have the best possible start in life and their parents experience the best possible pregnancy and birth. An important part of this is making sure our services are able to support this, and the needs of the growing number of people who live in our area.
We have considered information from families, NHS staff and community representatives, reviewed service data, and looked at areas such as population growth, inequalities and health needs. From this we have found that in north east London we have a growing population, more complicated pregnancies and births, more babies needing medical care when they are born, and health inequalities that impact pregnancies, births and babies.
This tells us we need to make some changes to maternity and neonatal services (the care of newborn babies) and there are opportunities to make sure our services remain safe, high quality and accessible for all.
We are now asking for the public’s views on what we have found, to help us shape the future of maternity and neonatal care. Please tell us what you think by reading our Case for Change or summary report, and filling in our online survey by 11.59pm on 8 September 2024. Please do also share this information with your networks, if appropriate.
A summary of our findings:
- The birth rate is growing – the number of babies born in north east London will continue to increase as the number of people living in north east London grows.
- Women and people are having more complicated pregnancies and births, so more people need the right hospital-based care. This will continue to grow.
- Our neonatal beds are often full making delivering care to babies at the right place and at the right time challenging. It also means some babies have to be cared for in hospitals outside our area.
- If we continue with the same type of care we have at the moment, the number of beds we have in the places where care needs to be delivered won’t match the number of people needing them in the future.
- This doesn’t just mean having more beds or space for maternity and neonatal care in our hospitals, there are opportunities to provide care differently to support this need.
- There are inequalities that can affect the health of the pregnancy and baby for women and people from different population groups.
- Some pregnant women and people could have less complicated or lower risk pregnancies or births if they receive advice and support earlier.
- Doing some things differently before and during pregnancy could help make important improvements in these areas and reduce inequalities.
- Our staff are hard-working, resilient and working together to provide safe care, but they are under huge pressure.
- With more women and people needing intensive clinical support, and opportunities to provide care differently, we need a workforce and model of care that fits this.
- Challenges to things like workforce mean some women and people have different options and experiences of birth depending on where they choose to have their baby.
Please refer to the full or summary report on our website –www.northeastlondon.icb.nhs.uk/maternity-neonatal-review – for more information.
The report does not propose any solutions and no decisions have been made about these services. We want to know what you, and the public, think of the findings in the Case for Change, if they reflect your experiences, and if we are focusing on what matters most to you. We want to know if you agree with some of the opportunities we have identified to do things differently for babies and pregnant women and people, and if you have any ideas or suggestions of what else we could do.
Your feedback will help inform future plans and services, please share your views using our online survey by 11.59pm on 8 September 2024.
Your sincerely,
North East London Local Maternity and Neonatal System Chairs
Chineze Otigbah
Consultant Obstetrician
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University
Hospitals NHS Trust
Nandiran Ratnavel
Consultant Neonatologist
Barts Health NHS Trust
Pauline Okhamesan
Head of Midwifery
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University
Hospitals NHS Trust