We welcomed Margaret Mullane, MP for Dagenham and Rainham, to Queen’s Hospital on Friday (21 November) to see the progress we've made improving our maternity services.

She heard how we’ve invested heavily in additional midwives and medical staff (including over 38 whole time equivalent posts) and have recruited 14 consultants since 2021.

In two years, our midwife vacancy rate has decreased from 16% to 4%, helping to reduce delays for women in labour.

Staff were also able to explain how offering more consistency in the midwife or team looking after those from more deprived areas, as well as improved support for vulnerable women and better use of interpreters, has helped us reduce the number of stillbirths 44% over the last year.

And she was told how our innovative use of theatres was helping to meet rising demand for caesarean sections - the number of C-sections has risen from 2,270 in 2020 to 3,005 in 2024 – by running out of hours theatre sessions.

Her visit to our Maternity department follows the announcement that we are one of 12 trusts taking part in the national investigation into maternity services in England, which is being led by Baroness Amos.

During her visit, the MP toured the facilities including our birthing pools and she spoke about how it was ‘absolutely fantastic’ and felt ‘very positive’.

Our Chief Executive Matthew Trainer said:

Staff are working tirelessly to provide the best possible care for every family. We've made significant progress and are getting better feedback from families and staff. But we know there's more still to do.