Views wanted as review launched into Jersey's maternity services
An in-depth review will be carried out into Jersey's maternity services.
The announcement has been made today by the Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel, to identify areas of improvement to better meet the needs of women, partners and their babies.
Various stakeholders and members of the public will be asked for their views, so the panel can gather evidence.
The review will explore:
The appropriateness and adequacy of the current maternity facilities in the General Hospital and the planned upgrade;
The availability and suitability of antenatal (including pregnancy loss) and perinatal mental health care ;
The safety and effectiveness of care delivered during antennal (before birth), intrapartum (labour) and postnatal (after birth) stages of pregnancy;
Whether women are able to make safe and appropriate choices about the maternity care that is right for them and their babies;
How maternity services can be improved to meet the needs of families; and
The impact of Covid-19 on the provision of maternity services.
In 2015, concerns were raised by the former Health Minister and the Hospital Director regarding the condition of the maternity unit in the General Hospital and it was accepted that major investment was needed to bring it up to an acceptable standard.
In September 2020, the Health and Community Services Department lodged a planning application to upgrade the maternity unit, partly in response to Covid-19. The Panel is also keen to understand what the upgrade work will entail and the intended benefits of these changes to parents and staff.