Maternity Services: Ethnic Groups
(asked on 25th March 2025) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help support local maternity services to tackle racial disparities; and whether his Department monitors the compliance of these services with guidelines on (a) equality and (b) anti-discrimination.
The National Health Service’s Three-Year Delivery Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Services sets national measures to improve maternity and neonatal services by making care more personalised and equitable. A key objective within the plan is to reduce inequalities for all in maternity access, experience, and outcomes, seeking to improve equity for mothers and babies. As part of the plan, all local areas have published Equity and Equality Action Plans, which set out tailored interventions that will tackle inequalities for women and babies from ethnic backgrounds and those living in the most deprived areas. Equity and Equality Action Plans are published online to ensure public accountability.
NHS England has published technical guidance to monitor compliance and to determine the success measures that are used to monitor the outcomes and progress in achieving the key objectives of the plan. The guidance is available at the following link:
The Department is also considering what longer term action can be taken to tackle disparities in outcomes and experiences for black, Asian, and minority ethnic women. This includes working closely with NHS England, and the wider sector, to identify the right actions and interventions that will deliver the required change.