4 April 2022

There have been many high-profile investigations and reports into maternity safety within NHS Trusts in the past years. 

UCLH Maternity service are focused on making well- informed improvements to maternity services as a team of midwives, obstetricians, neonatologists, obstetric anaesthetists, GPs, paramedics etc and centrally including families,

We are committed to ensuring important lessons learned and recommendations are implemented into our services in the interested of ensuring high quality and safe care of mothers, and babies. 

We would like to express our sincere condolences to the parents and families directly and indirectly affected by the content in the reports.

If you are currently pregnant or planning for a baby and have any questions or concerns, please get in touch so we can help. You can talk to a member of our maternity team by emailing Lyndsey.smith3@nhs.net  (Director of Midwifery). Alternatively, you can contact our patient advice and liaison service by emailing uclh.pals@nhs.net.

We would also like you to know that UCLH is committed to an open and honest culture where the safety of all our patients and colleagues is a key priority.

Updated 6 July 2022 - for more information about our COVID-19 maternity services visiting information, visit here.

Throughout the pandemic, our visiting policy has been developed in line with Public Health England and NHS England national guidance and in response to changing infection rates in London to protect patients, their visitors and staff.

You can bring one support partner to:

Outpatients:

• All scans
• All midwife appointments
• All Fetal Medicine Unit appointments
• All attendances to the Maternal Fetal Assessment Unit

Please note that this does not include GTT glucose tests.

Visitors for outpatient appointments will be required to wait just outside the building as waiting areas inside the hospital cannot accommodate all patients and visitors while socially distanced. Visitors will be able to join patients when they are brought into a room and the appointment starts.

Inpatients:

2 x support partners for:

• Admissions for induction of labour
• Admissions for labour and birth

We are pleased to update you with the changes to our Maternity Visiting as below:

Birthing partner can stay for 24 hours on Birth Centre, Postnatal Ward & ACU.

Second person can visit the Birth Centre, Postnatal Ward & ACU (including children/siblings) between 2-8pm

Please note this only applies to Maternity Inpatients (Birth Centre, Postnatal Ward & ACU) for the time being.

Our Neonatal Unit visiting is currently under review.

All visitors for all outpatient and inpatient appointments will require an ID badge which is produced on that day for that day only by ground floor reception staff.

We recommend that visitors arrive 15 minutes before the scheduled appointment time to allow time for this badge to be produced.