MNSI responds to the publication of the NHS 10 Year Plan

In response to the publication of the 10 Year Health Plan, which is part of the government’s mission to build a health service fit for the future, Sandy Lewis, Director of The Maternity and Newborn Safety Investigation (MNSI) programme, said:

“We welcome today’s announcement of the plan, which follows the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, The Rt Hon Wes Streeting’s, recent announcement of a rapid investigation into maternity and newborn services and the creation of a Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce. This is needed, particularly at a time when the safety and quality of maternity and neonatal services poses significant concern.

We support the introduction of a Single Patient Record (SPR) which will bring together patients’ medical records and preferences of care into one place. We are delighted that this will be rolled out in maternity care first. Ensuring maternity teams have access to all the information they need is vital to ensuring mothers, birthing people, and their babies receive safe, person-centred care.

Developing Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMS) for maternity care is also listed as a priority. We look forward to research due to be published in April 2026, which the plan states will support the implementation of a new experience measure. This will enable all women and birthing people to provide feedback on their care from summer 2026. We hope this new experience measure will help create safer, more equitable maternity and newborn care.

Whilst the plan is being implemented, we will continue to conduct our independent investigations of patient safety events in maternity and newborn care and collaborate closely with families, Trusts and key stakeholders to support services to be safe for the people who use them.

Read our response to the maternity and newborn safety announcement on 23 June.

Read the full 10 Year Health Plan.