Written Statement: Establishment of a Maternity and Neonatal Oversight Panel

In May 2025, I announced I was commissioning an all-Wales assurance assessment of maternity and neonatal services to assess the safety and quality of our services. 

This nationally commissioned assurance assessment is part of a suite of interventions which the Welsh Government is committed to ensure that the maternity and neonatal safety support programme remains contemporary and responsive to changing evidence for improved outcomes. It will focus on assessing maternity and neonatal services across Wales against the criteria within the National Quality Statement and Quality Standards. It will identify areas of good practice and those where there may be residual risk or concern within maternity and neonatal care.

I appreciate that many families want a full review of all maternity services to be launched as the next step, rather than the assurance assessment which I have initiated. I understand these concerns; however, I need real time assurance about the safety of our units and this assessment is the best way to gain that. If the Maternity and Neonatal Assurance Assessment Oversight Panel recommends further reviews at either a site or national level then I will consider those recommendations carefully. I propose to offer families an opportunity to meet with me when the Panel makes its recommendations so that we can discuss next steps.

I am today announcing the appointment of a Maternity and Neonatal Oversight Panel, which will be a time limited group to provide an independent assessment of Wales maternity and neonatal services. 

This is a group of individuals with national expertise in their respective fields who will support us in our work to improve the quality and safety of maternity and neonatal services.

It will provide Welsh Ministers with external assurance on the quality and safety of maternity and neonatal services and make recommendations for the future development and improvement of services. This is a structured process by which the panel members will assess, judge, and evaluate the quality of services across Wales, against a defined standard. 

The timescale for this assessment is deliberately tight as I need immediate assurances. 

At the heart of this assurance assessment will be the voices and experiences of women and families, whose perspectives are central to understanding the quality, safety, and culture of our services. We have appointed a well-respected and experienced patient experience lead who will ensure the voices of women and families are integral to this assessment. 

I am pleased to announce the following appointments:

Professor Sally Holland (Chair)

Sally is a leading social care academic, with expertise in child and family welfare, child protection, public involvement and equality, diversity and inclusion. From 2015 to 2022 she was Children’s Commissioner for Wales. She was the founding Director of the CASCADE Children’s Social Care Research Centre in Cardiff University, which is now the largest centre of its kind in the UK . She is a registered social worker and in her early career worked in the statutory and voluntary sectors.

Heidi Smoult (Member)

Heidi has expertise in quality review, incident investigations, regulatory matters to drive improvements in healthcare, safety, improvement and leadership development. She was Chief Executive at Northampton General Hospital NHS and prior to that was Deputy Chief Inspector at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) where she was accountable for the effective regulation of the NHS and independent healthcare providers. Heidi has a wealth of health and care experience preceding this, beginning her career as a midwife before moving into operational roles. 

Sue Holden (Member)

Sue is chair of Advancing Quality Alliance (Aqua), having previously been its Chief Executive Officer. Prior to this, she was the National Director for Intensive Support at NHS England and NHS Improvement and has occupied several national improvement leadership roles in her NHS career and brings an energy and drive for continuous improvement. She trained as a nurse and then midwife and worked clinically for over 15 years before developing her interest in operational development and learning.  

Dr Edile Murdoch (Member)

Edile is a consultant neonatologist of 25 years in NHS Lothian Edinburgh and previously Addenbrooke’s Hospital Cambridge. She has been a clinical director of obstetric and neonatal services in NHS England and Scotland and a neonatal network lead. She is one of the national specialty advisors for NHSE maternity and neonatal programme and clinical lead for the maternity outcome signal system programme.  She chaired the Scottish perinatal network adverse event review group and co-chaired the BAPM perinatal palliative care working group. She is a communications tutor and is a trained mediator. 

Ken Sutton (Member)

Ken has held senior roles at the Home Office including as a Director for Crime and Policing. He served as Secretary to the Hillsborough Independent Panel and was Secretary to the Independent Investigation into Maternity and Neonatal Services in East Kent. He was an adviser to an independent Review of forensic pathology.

Dr Jo Mountfield (Member)

Jo has recently retired having been a consultant Obstetrician for over 20 years. She was Director of Education within University Hospital Southampton since 2006. She is a past chair of the specialty education advisory committee at the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists.  She was a Health Foundation Leadership Fellow and past Vice President at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. 

Professor Mary Renfrew (Member)

Now retired, Mary is a leading health researcher, with a clinical background in midwifery. She has spent over 40 years researching infant feeding, nutrition, midwifery and maternity care, influencing policy, practice and public understanding across the UK and internationally. She has advised government departments and global organisations including the WHO and UNICEF and was the Lead Advisor for The Nursing and Midwifery Council for the standards of proficiency for midwives. She recently led the Independent Report on midwifery and wider maternity services in Northern Ireland.

The group brings a wealth of experience from across other national health services and will meet for the first time in September 2025.  It will provide me with initial advice by 31 December 2025. 

This statement is being issued during recess to keep Members informed. Should Members wish me to make a further statement or to answer questions on this when the Senedd returns I would be happy to do so.