Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including anaesthetists on the National Maternity and Neonatal Task Force; what consultation was taken with representative bodies of anaesthetists when creating the National Maternity and Neonatal Task Force; and whether he plans to include anaesthetists on the National Maternity and Neonatal Task Force in the future.

The National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce has been designed to be agile and make decisions at pace, whilst still representing a breadth of perspectives, experiences and professions across the maternity and neonatal system. Women’s representation on the Taskforce is essential.

However, we recognise the importance of much wider perspectives to ensure the Taskforce can achieve its aims, which is why we have set up eight expert reference groups, which will feed directly into the taskforce. These groups will ensure the taskforce benefits from a broad range of perspectives including from clinical, academic, workforce, charitable and grassroots organisations, families and women, and regulatory and investigatory bodies.

We currently have anaesthetist representation on the Workforce, Clinical and Academic Expert Reference Group, namely Dr Nuala Lucas, President of the Obstetric Anaesthetists Association.