Foreword
Maternity care is a matter of public interest and the quality of care touches most families. The aim of this South West London Maternity and Neonatal Service (LMNS) equity and equality action plan is to address health inequalities focusing on those from minority ethnic backgrounds and those living in deprived areas. That means we want everyone to have the same great experience when they give birth.
This plan sets out why this is important and how we will achieve it over the next five years. We have identified seven objectives where we will focus our efforts, ranging from improving access to services, listening to marginalised groups and acting on their feedback, reviewing the service we provide and improving the way we collect and use data.
It is also important that we look after our staff by breaking down barriers for our minority ethnic staff and investing in a non-blame culture where all staff learn from mistakes.
In drafting this, we have been guided by NHS England’s priorities which include accelerating prevention programmes, especially for those at greatest risk of poor health outcomes.
South West London LMNS covers a wide and diverse areas providing a good service for our women and birthing people which is better than the national average but we want to do better. There is still a higher rate of stillbirths and poorer outcomes amongst minority ethnic groups than white groups and this report addresses those issues.
To develop this plan we looked at various national reports and consulted with our staff and the local community. We will continue to develop and adapt as we learn more over the coming months and years and will review and evaluate annually.
Elaine Clancy
Chief Nursing Officer, South West London Integrated Care System