Regular inspections to be introduced at maternity wards in Scotland

Maternity units in Scotland will undergo unannounced inspections from the start of next year, it has been announced.

The move was recommended by experts after a number of spikes in the deaths of newborn babies in Scotland in recent years.

Routine inspections by Healthcare Improvement Scotland will begin in January, with the first report being published in April.

Families will be able to review the reports about the maternity wards which they are due to attend.

There have not been routine inspections of maternity units in Scotland until now, although they have been included in wider hospital inspections or been subject to specific assessments.

The introduction of routine, unannounced inspections in Scotland was one of the key recommendations of an independent review published in February.

It was carried out by retired consultant neonatologist Dr Helen Mactier, and looked at two spikes in the deaths of newborn babies over a six-month period in 2021/22.

The review estimated there had been 30 additional deaths of babies within 28 days of birth in 2021/22, compared to the previous four years.

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Source: BBC News, 26 August 2024