Implementing A Framework for Maternity ... - Scottish Government

Foreword
Our National Health Service is changing fast and rising to the challenge of providing modern
health care in the 21st Century. It is responding to a rapidly changing environment in which
new learning, new technology, and new skills can revolutionise how we care for Scotland’s
people. Giving every child in Scotland the best possible start in life is a top priority for the
Scottish Executive. And that starts with our maternity services, before, during and after childbirth.
The care and welfare of women during pregnancy, childbirth and post-natally has a profound
impact on the wellbeing of our nation, not just in terms of delivering healthy, happy babies,
but also in determining the profile of our national health for a very long time thereafter.
As in the rest of the developed world, the Scottish birth rate is falling. The age at which our
women become pregnant for the first time is increasing. Increasing medical specialisation,
necessary restrictions on the number of hours doctors and nurses work during shifts, and
improvements to training for doctors all impact on the shape and size of our workforce. Fewer
births, shifting patterns of need and a changing workforce - all these factors have significant
implications for the shape of our maternity services in future.
In February 2001 the Executive launched A Framework for Maternity Services in Scotland.
That was based on consultation with maternity services’ professionals and users. It set out
principles and practice for a modern, responsive and effective service and reflected the views
and wishes of the women and their families who use that service. We have made much
progress in taking forward implementation of the Framework. But we still have more to do.
I set up this short-life Expert Working Group on Acute Maternity Services (EGAMS) to examine
how we should apply the principles set out in A Framework for Maternity Services in Scotland
to maternity services during childbirth. The Group comprised representatives from the Royal
College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, other medical
and nursing professionals, NHS Board and Trust management, the Scottish Ambulance Service
and the Scottish Executive Health Department. I attach great importance to our maternity care
and chaired the Group myself.
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