What steps is the Cabinet Minister taking to work with the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to ensure that mothers are able to remain with their baby if they are transferred to a different hospital?
We are clear that wherever possible mothers should be enabled to remain close to, and involved in the care of, their baby, including when a baby requires transfer to another hospital for specialist neonatal care. This is a key principle of family-centred and family integrated care and is reflected in Welsh neonatal policy and standards. The All-Wales Neonatal Standards require health boards to support parental participation in their baby's care and provide appropriate facilities for parents, while the Quality Statement for Maternity and Neonatal Services promotes care that keeps mothers, babies and families together wherever it is safe and clinically appropriate.
The Welsh Government is working with all health boards, including Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, through the national Maternity and Neonatal Network and improvement programmes to strengthen pathways that minimise separation following maternal or neonatal transfer. This includes supporting effective coordination between hospitals, provision of family accommodation where available, and ensuring parents are actively involved in decisions about care and transfer arrangements.
In addition, the Welsh Government has recently funded Bliss to support neonatal units across Wales to work towards the Bliss Baby Charter standards. These standards place families at the centre of neonatal care and promote parents as partners in care, including ensuring that parents can stay as close to their baby as possible and remain involved throughout their baby's hospital journey.
While there will be occasions when specialist clinical needs make transfer unavoidable, the expectation is that health boards continue to improve facilities, support and accommodation for families so that separation is minimised and mothers can remain with their baby whenever this is safe and feasible. This aligns with recommendations from Bliss, which highlight the importance of overnight accommodation and family integrated care to reduce the distress caused by separation and improve outcomes for babies.