Response to letter from Swansea Bay Maternity Support Group
14th August 2024
To: Members of Swansea Bay Maternity Support Group
Dear Members,
Re: Your letter of 8th August 2024
Thank you all for taking the time to write to me, on behalf of the Swansea Bay Maternity Support Group.
Firstly, I wish to apologise. The Independent Review of Maternity and Neonatal Services has taken too long to get underway.
I hope that this letter will reassure you that the Health Board is fully committed to supporting the Review Team as it makes up for lost ground, and to the full involvement of families and related support groups. I have discussed this with the Interim Chair of the Oversight Panel; she is making this a priority and LLAIS will also work alongside to provide support.
We all want to learn everything that we can from the review process, to ensure that services are safe, effective and patient-centred. I hear your concerns about the Review, but, from my perspective, the delays that would result from closing the current review and starting again would mean even more time elapsing before we get the answers that we all want.
However, I agree that families must be at the heart of the Review, and the Health Board will make support available to help people come forward.
We understand that sharing experiences can take its toll, so we will be making external, independent support available for those families who would find it helpful. Next week, the Review Team will be writing out to families and the letters will include details about the offer of support and how to access it. The letters will be sent out in stages and the Review Team will use feedback to help shape future communications.
There will also be an opportunity for families to self-refer if they have had experiences they wish to share, and want them included in the Independent Review, even if outside the scope of the records selected under the Review’s published terms of reference. Arrangements to self-refer will be published for families on the Review website in week commencing 9th September 2024.
The Review Team has launched its new website, to provide a central repository of all information about the Review and the phasing of the work – and this can be found here. I hope that you will find the website helpful and feedback will be most welcome. The establishment of the Families and Stakeholders Group will be another way in which you can all contribute and share your experiences.
In conclusion, may I apologise again for the delays and assure you of the Health Board's determination to support the Review Team as its work progresses. We all have an interest in letting the Review run its course and give us the answers. I hope that you will join with us in seeing the Review through to its conclusion and thank you again for taking the time to write.
Yours faithfully,
Jan Williams
Chair, Swansea Bay University Health Board
Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth a galwadau ffôn yn y Gymraeg neu'r Saesneg. Atebir gohebiaeth Gymraeg yn y Gymraeg, ac ni fydd hyn yn arwain at oedi. Mae’r dudalen hon ar gael yn Gymraeg drwy bwyso’r botwm ar y dde ar frig y dudalen.
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