Saving Mothers' Lives: - Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland

Annex 13.1 The recommendations of the National Domestic Abuse
and Pregnancy Advisory Group 1
The Advisory Group’s terms of reference were:
“To advise Ministers on the practicalities of taking forward the commitment in the Children’s,
Young People’s and Maternity NSF (National Service Framework) to provide a supportive and
enabling environment within antenatal care for women to disclose domestic abuse.”
An enabling environment is defi ned as:
“An environment which ensures, at the very least, that all pregnant women know about the
nature and frequency of domestic abuse, that those affected need not suffer in silence and will
be listened to sympathetically, and all women are given information on how to access local and
national sources of support and advice.”
Recent NHS reforms were designed to meet the needs of patients more effectively. One outcome has been
a shift of emphasis from Whitehall to the NHS frontline. It is the responsibility of local authorities, managers
and professionals to set priorities in the light of their resources and the needs of their populations. The role
of the Department of Health (DH) is to set out a clear national framework whilst providing resources, setting
standards and looking at accountability.
Action points for local activity
1. Material concerning domestic abuse should be provided that meets the needs of the local population
in a variety of easily accessible formats and media. Support should be available from the start in easy
access formats for all, including in different languages and easy read format.
2. The numbers and website addresses of the national and local helplines should be automatically printed
at the bottom of all NHS appointment cards and any other locally produced information.
3. The national and local helpline numbers should be printed on local hand held maternity and child health
records as well as being made available in clinics by means of posters, videos etc.
4. New mothers to receive, as part of their baby record book, a laminated card with a complete list of
useful national and local numbers of organisations that can help them and their babies, such as access
to breast feeding advice, welfare foods etc but which will also include the domestic abuse numbers.
5. The national helpline numbers and website address should be printed on a standardised credit card
sized leafl et freely available in clinics or elsewhere. These may be adapted for local use.
6. Regular surveys should be carried out to ascertain how many women recalled seeing the information, if
they understood it and modifi cations made accordingly.
7. Policies should be audited locally as part of the monitoring process tracking implementation of the
Maternity Standard of the Children’s, Young People’s and Maternity NSF.
8. NHS maternity services should move to include a routine question as part of the social history taken
during pregnancy, but this should be introduced at a measured pace, and with appropriate training.
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