2018/004 Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Mums, dads, grandparents, parents-to-be and carers in Herefordshire are invited to have their say in shaping the future of maternity services across the region.

Herefordshire Maternity Voices Partnership is a chance for those who are passionate about local maternity services to inform the way these services are delivered in the future - including improving choice and personalisation of maternity services and improving the safety of maternity care.

The views of the forum members, which will also include health professionals, will inform the work of the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Local Maternity System (LMS) Plan. The LMS aims to ensure that midwives and the broader workforce involved in supporting women and their families play a crucial role in enabling every child to have the very best start in life and in reducing health inequalities.

Christobel Hargraves, Chair of the LMS, said: “The Local Maternity System Plan aims to turn the vision of the national Better Births report into a reality for the residents of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. We are committed to listening to, and meeting the needs and desires of mothers, so it is essential that we hear their voice as we move forward. The development and enhancement of our Maternity Voices Partnerships is key to this. This is a real opportunity to shape the future of maternity services and I would urge anyone with an interest to get involved.”

Herefordshire Maternity Voices Partnership will hold its first meeting on Friday, January 12, from 1.30pm to 3pm at Widemarsh Children’s Centre, Widemarsh Common.

For more information or to register your interest please call 07710075062or email herefordshiremv@outlook.com

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Note to editors:

The Herefordshire and Worcestershire Local Maternity System Board was established in March 2017 and incorporates partner organisations including:

• Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

• Wye Valley NHS Trust

• Worcestershire Health & Care NHS Trust

• West Midlands Ambulance Service

• Public Health England

• Worcestershire Clinical Commissioning Groups

• Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group

• NHS England

• Health Education England

• NHSE Specialised Commissioning

• University of Worcester

• Healthwatch Herefordshire

• Healthwatch Worcestershire

• Worcestershire County Council

• Herefordshire Council

• Maternity Voices Partnership

 The purpose of the LMS is to meet and deliver the recommendations of:

• Better Births, National Maternity Review. NHS England (February 2016)

• Saving Babies Lives. NHS England (March 2016)

• Maternal & Newborn Health Safety Collaborative. NHS England (December 2016)

 In doing so the LMS will work towards delivering the Secretary of States ambition for a 20%

reduction in stillbirths, neonatal death, maternal death and neonatal brain injury by 2020 and a 50% reduction in the same by 2030, using a baseline 2010 data.

The LMS Board Plan aims to outline how the system will work together to deliver these

national priorities, and provide place-based planning and leadership for transforming the way

maternity care is delivered to local women and new-borns.

For further information on this press release please contact Rebecca Bourne on 01905 760453/07733111361 or email rebeccabourne@nhs.net