Maternity Care Research Reveals Regional Variations

A medical negligence lawyer has called for maternity care across the UK to improve after figures suggested that women are facing a postcode lottery in relation to the standard of services available.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has spoken out on the issue after NHS figures revealed variations in maternity services depending on location, with some major differences between NHS trusts which are close to each other.

For example, 87.6 per cent of women who had their first antenatal appointment at Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust were seen within 12 weeks, which was around five times higher than in Barnsley Hospital NHS Trust.

Suzanne Munroe, a Partner at Irwin Mitchell who specialises in medical law and patient rights, said: “Women going through pregnancy deserve the right to know that they will receive the best possible treatment from their local NHS trust.

“This research suggests this is not the case and I welcome the decision of RCM to speak out and shed light on the issue.

“Patients should not face concerns over the quality of care they will receive and I hope every effort is made to address the worrying inconsistencies that appear to exist.”