The Government’s first-ever national maternity adviser will deliver the keynote address at this year’s MJA Symposium — and the timing could not be more significant.
Michelle Welsh MP, who was appointed to the role in May, will take the stage as two landmark maternity inquiries prepare to publish this summer, setting the scene for what promises to be the most urgent conversation in maternity care in years.
Her speech will set out how she plans to work with families, the NHS, government and maternity organisations to drive safer, better outcomes for mothers and babies.
Welsh has vowed to “work tirelessly” to push for meaningful reform. This will be the first opportunity to hear what that means in practice.
The free-to-attend event on 17 June, held in partnership with the King’s Fund at their central London headquarters and open exclusively to MJA members, is themed around The State of Maternity: Safety, Inequality and Culture.
Throughout the day, an exceptional line up of speakers will outline the scale of the challenges still facing maternity services across the country but what is and can be done to address ongoing issues.
MJA members will have the opportunity to question key policy makers just days before the Ockenden Maternity Review into Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is due to report.
Prominent voices
Alongside the keynote, attendees will hear from some of the most prominent voices in maternity health, policy and research, including:
- Dr Sarah Scobie, deputy director of research at the Nuffield Trust
- Kirsty Kitchen, director of The Birth Companions Institute
- Dr Louise Page, clinical director at Maternity and Newborn Safety Investigations
- Professor Marian Knight, director of the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford and national lead for MBRRACE-UK
- Professor Mary Dixon-Woods, director of THIS Institute and Health Foundation professor of healthcare improvement studies at the University of Cambridge
Journalists who have broken major stories in maternity care will also take part, including Shaun Lintern from The Sunday Times, Hannah Barnes from The New Statesman, and Emily Townsend from HSJ.
Sessions will tackle workforce pressures and culture, racial inequality and maternal outcomes, and the thorny questions of safety, scandal and accountability. Legal experts will address duty of candour and whistleblowing protections. Attendees will also gain access to embargoed unpublished research and hear directly from experts about how to effect lasting change in a system under sustained pressure.
The day will end with a drinks reception — a chance to connect with fellow journalists, clinicians and advocates who share a commitment to improving maternity care.
Further speakers and sessions will be announced in the coming days.
The MJA is grateful for our sponsor Leigh Day whose support enables us to host the event.
Attendance is free and the event is open exclusively to MJA members. Eligible journalists are welcome to join the MJA in order to attend. To register and find out more, click here.