CHANGES in maternity care across Cheshire are set to begin following the release of interim findings from the Ockenden report.

As part of that review, national NHS bosses have issued seven ‘immediate and essential actions’ for all Trusts to implement by July 2021.

Now, Cheshire’s three acute NHS Trusts — The Countess of Chester, Mid Cheshire, and East Cheshire — have submitted ‘assurance plans’ to regional chiefs, overseen by the area’s clinical commissioning group (CCG).

At a meeting of the CCG, Director of Strategy and Partnerships, Tracey Cole said: “We need to pay special attention to the Ockenden review.

“It is a difficult report to read, but it is important that it is read.”

The Ockenden report’s first findings were published last month.

It was brought about due to ‘maternal and neonatal harm that took place at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust between the years 2000 and 2019’, affecting more than 1,800 families.

Following the publication, all NHS England has tasked trusts with producing an ‘assurance template’, outlining how each body will implement the review’s recommendations.

They focus on themes such as ‘enhanced safety’, ‘listening to women and families’, ‘staff training and working together’, ‘managing complex pregnancy’, ‘risk assessment throughout pregnancy’, ‘monitoring fetal wellbeing’, and ‘informed consent’.

As part of the process, NHS England has instructed each acute trust to meet over how implementation is going by no later than next month.