A closer look at maternity
At Barts Health, we deliver around 40 babies every day across our three hospitals. Our maternity units are among the busiest in the country, serving one of the most diverse populations, many of whom have complex health and social needs.
With maternity services nationally under intense scrutiny, we see this locally too. It helps us learn, improve and ensure our maternity and neonatal services provide the safest, highest‑quality care possible.
Over the past year, we have implemented national safety initiatives and were recognised as one of the most improved trusts in the country in the recent CQC maternity survey, showing that women are beginning to feel the positive impact of the changes we’re making.
Reducing inequalities remains a key priority. We’re proud to have been highlighted in the first Race, Equity and Engagement Group annual report as an example of how maternity and neonatal services can take meaningful action to improve outcomes for ethnic minority communities.
Across our hospitals, several practical improvements are already making a difference:
- Newham maternity triage redesign - including a dedicated triage telephone hotline aligned with new national standards.
- Whipps Cross postnatal transformation - predominantly single‑room accommodation, significantly improving patient experience.
- Royal London community partnerships - including a fathers’ group for the Bengali community and research into genomics, vaginal breech birth and a new instrument for assisted vaginal birth.
- Faster triage assessments - with around 65% of women now receiving an assessment within 15 minutes of arriving at maternity triage or maternity emergency departments across all sites.
A closer look at Newham Hospital’s maternity unit shows how the team’s resilience, empathy and commitment shine through despite rising clinical demands, complex patient needs and increasing national expectations. Their dedication is reflected daily in family gratitude and the compassion shown by staff.
While there is more to do, we remain absolutely focused on our priorities: safe staffing, strong leadership, high-quality training, listening to women and reducing inequalities as outlined in our group maternity strategy.
Thank you to all our incredible midwives and maternity staff who work tirelessly to keep women and babies safe.
Learn more about our group plan.