- Funding will help tackle safety risks in maternity and neonatal facilities
- Part of £187m million announced for national improvements since April 2025
- Maternity services a priority for new Health and Social Care Secretary
Families across Berkshire will have their maternity services improved as £4.5million of dedicated funding is rolled out across the region.
The funding will be used to reduce the most urgent safety risks in maternity and neonatal facilities, including issues such as fire safety, ventilation and outdated infrastructure – creating safer environments for mothers and newborns.
The investment is part of £187m announced for national improvements since April 2025 and a further £25 million to help tackle the causes of maternal death, improve triage services and enhance bereavement facilities announced earlier this year.
These steps are being taken as part of urgent action in response to the landmark Amos Review published last month, including the creation of the first ever maternity and neonatal commissioner.
Health Secretary Yvette Cooper spoke about the challenges raised by the Amos Review at a visit to the Royal Berkshire Hospital Maternity department on Wednesday 22 July.
She said
When I was a junior health minister 25 years ago, maternity services were one of my top priorities and they will be again today. I think the importance of good quality maternity services in our NHS has too often been underestimated. So too has the traumatic impact for families when things go wrong. That’s why we’ve had deeply distressing cases where families were let down. Every woman having a baby in the NHS should feel safe and looked after, and that has to be our mission.
It was a privilege to be at the Royal Berkshire hospital’s maternity department today, to meet staff and patients and talk about their experiences. It’s vital that we’re there for people and they can rely on us, particularly at the beginning of a newborn’s life. A lot of good work has been done but there is so much more to do.
Yvette Cooper was appointed as the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on Monday 20 July and has said maternity care will be one of her most important priorities. As part of her role she is chair of the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce.
Since June 2024, significant progress has been made to reform maternity services in England, including recruiting 2,000 more midwives, the introduction of a new programme to reduce brain injuries during labour and the extension of Martha’s Rule to maternity and neonatal wards across England.
Background
- This funding is from the £750m p.a Estates Safety Fund, and includes funding from 2025/26