Will the Minister provide an update on the introduction of the continuity of carers commitment, along with timescales, as outlined in the 2019-2024 maternity services strategy?
Maternity Care in Wales – A 5 Year Vision for the Future was published in July 2019 and recognises that continuity of carer arrangements offer women and those who support them the opportunity to build a trusting relationship over the pregnancy journey and into parenthood.
Work to achieve continuity of carer models for all women and families in pregnancy in Wales has continued throughout the pandemic. The Maternity and Neonatal Network are taking forward the implementation of this commitment through a dedicated Workstream which includes representation of midwives, obstetricians and women from every health board. In April 2021 the Continuity of Carer Workstream arranged a learning event to share best practice from across the UK and understand the current continuity arrangements in each health board. Health Boards were then able to consider their own action plans based on local opportunities and challenges with the support of the Improvement Cymru team. The event also saw the Launch of the Continuity Resource Centre, a dedicated section on the Network SharePoint which holds tools and support documents to aid Continuity of Carer across the continuum.
The Continuity of Carer Workstream will support local plans for antenatal and postnatal continuity throughout the woman’s pathway, plus local testing of models to support full continuity in order that a feasibility model for Wales be collaboratively identified by 2024.