Team Blitz India
LONDON: About £35 million will be invested to improve maternity safety across England with the recruitment of additional midwives and the expansion of specialist training to thousands of extra healthcare workers, according to a statement from the Department of Health and Social Care.
The investment, which was announced as part of the Spring Budget, will be provided over the next three years to ensure maternity services listen to and act on women’s experiences to improve care, it said.
The funding includes £9 million for the roll out of the Reducing Brain Injury programme across maternity units in England to provide healthcare workers with the tools and training to reduce avoidable brain injuries in childbirth.
It also comprises investment in training to ensure the NHS workforce has the skills needed to provide ever-safer maternity care. An additional 6,000 clinical staff will be trained in neonatal resuscitation and the number of clinical staff receiving specialist training in obstetric medicine in England will double.
The number of midwives will be increased by funding 160 new posts over three years to support the growth of the maternity and neonatal workforce. Funding to support the rollout of Maternity and Neonatal Voice Partnerships to improve how women’s experiences and views are listened to and acted on to improve care is also included in the fund.
