Councillor Dr Ketan Sheth

Each year here in Brent, we welcome almost 4,000 newborns into the world at Northwick Park Hospital’s maternity department. Each birth is the start of an exciting journey for new parents and families, who should all have confidence that they will receive safe, effective, compassionate maternity care that focuses on their individual needs.

Sadly, across the country, this has not always been the case. A quick online news search reveals that NHS maternity services have not always performed to an acceptable standard, with disparities in care especially for women from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic groups. The hard truth is that poor quality maternity care puts the safety and well-being of women and babies at risk.

An inspection by the Care Quality Commission in 2021 raised concerns about the quality and safety of maternity services at Northwick Park Hospital. I am delighted to say that in the years that have followed that inspection, Brent’s local government scrutiny committee has been working with the NHS leadership to ensure the service improves and staff have been working tirelessly with the National Maternity Safety Programme to turn things around for the 3,700 births there each year.

The maternity department recently celebrated opening its newly refurbished triage and birthing centres. Whilst this investment in new modern facilities is welcome, it is positive cultural change that is by far the biggest ingredient in the service transformation. There is a new senior management team and a commitment to listening to local women through the Northwick Park Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership, which is chaired by local mothers.

This has resulted in a raft of changes, including a special area for women who need to have an induced labour and a specialist midwife to support them. Obstetric nurses are on-hand to help women who have caesarean birth to recover quicker, and seven community midwifery teams have been set-up, three of which are in Brent. A new LifeStart trolley has also been introduced to look after newborn babies who need extra support, while keeping them close to their mothers. Antenatal care for women at risk of gestational diabetes has improved too.  

These substantial improvements, and many others besides, have led to the maternity team being taken off NHS England’s special measures. Indeed, the maternity service at Northwick Park Hospital was deemed the most improved of all trusts in a recent National Maternity Patient Survey

Transformation like this does not come about easily; it requires passion and the commitment from the local government and NHS working in partnership to continually deliver the best care possible for women, babies, and families. 

Tomorrow and every day, around ten babies will be born at Northwick Park, and each mother will have different needs. I wish them all the very best, safe in the knowledge they can expect personalised, safe, and compassionate care.  

Cllr Ketan Sheth chairs the North West London Joint Health Scrutiny Committee