The escalation follows two ITV Wales investigations broadcast in November 2022 and October 2023 which reported evidence of a number of ‘care failings’ within Swansea Bay University Health Board’s Maternity Unit.
Eluned Morgan MS, Welsh Government Minister for Health and Social Services said: “Over recent months, Members and families have highlighted concerns about the maternity and neonatal services provided by Swansea Bay University Health Board. I am today outlining some of the work officials have undertaken to address these concerns.
“To gain further assurance, I am announcing that I am escalating the maternity and neonatal services to enhanced monitoring.
“This will ensure that the health board has the comprehensive support it needs to deliver the improvement plans it has developed and will ensure officials are well placed to assess progress. The health board has welcomed this escalation.”
Responding to the announcement, Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister, Russell George MS said: “This announcement is very long overdue. It is unfortunate that this escalation has only come after hard pressing questions from the Welsh Conservatives and the media off the back of tireless work by affected families, as opposed to the Labour Health Minister actually listening to the abundance of evidence on the ground in the Swansea Bay area.
“It has been clear for some time that given the substantial numbers of ongoing investigations into Swansea Bay maternity cases that there were immediate concerns from at least last year, despite the Labour Welsh Government stating the opposite.
“While I am glad that there is evidence now that this issue is being looked at with some seriousness, there is also a need for greater transparency from the Labour Welsh Government going forwards. No more smoke and mirrors.”
Commenting on the independent review, Emma Woollett, the Health Board’s Chair said: “Our maternity and neonatal services have been subject to a number of reviews over the last couple of years, all of which have been positive along with identifying some areas for improvement, especially relating to the consequences of not having enough staff.
“Our teams of dedicated doctors, midwives, nurses and support staff are all passionate about providing the best possible care for our women and babies but over the last couple of years, there is no doubt that their work has been made more challenging as a result of a UK-wide shortage of midwives and other registered staff.
“That’s why we believe the time is right for a definitive independent review, overseen by an oversight panel that will be chaired by an individual unconnected to the Health Board. This will ensure that our services are reviewed thoroughly, in conjunction with service users and our staff, with no stone left unturned, as we seek to cement public confidence in the service and ensure continuous improvement.”
Commenting further, Dr Richard Evans, Interim Chief Executive of the Health Board said: “While there’s no doubt that our maternity services have experienced significant pressures in recent times due to staffing shortages, we’re confident that our recent large-scale and successful recruitment activity has made a big difference to service users and our hard-working staff.
“That said, there’s no doubt that recent scrutiny of and comment on the services in the public domain has affected confidence levels and that’s a big concern for us and is something that has added to the pressures our teams have faced. That’s why we’ve invited this experienced, independent review team to access all areas and without fear nor favour, establish the facts.
“And the oversight panel, which will be independently chaired by somebody with no links to the Health Board, will ensure that the review team has all the resources and access it needs to do its job properly.
“We’ll also be working very closely with the Welsh Government in the months ahead, ensuring that they have the assurance they need and making sure that they are able to support us wherever necessary.
(Lead image: Google maps)
