Cwestiwn ysgrifenedig WQ100930

The Welsh Government accepted the recommendations of The Path to Safer Beginnings in Wales and established a National Maternity and Neonatal Programme Board in June 2026 to oversee their implementation. The Board brings together Welsh Government officials, NHS Wales leaders, professional representatives and service-user representatives to monitor delivery, scrutinise risks and hold workstreams to account. It reports directly to the Healthcare Quality Improvement Board, jointly chaired by the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Nursing Officer.

The Programme Board has focused on ensuring that the recommendations are translated into a coordinated national improvement programme, with clear accountability, milestones and assurance arrangements. Progress is routinely monitored, with risks and delivery concerns escalated through the established governance framework where required.

Since the report was published, significant progress has been made across a number of priority areas. This includes work to strengthen workforce planning and sustainability, improve maternity and neonatal data and safety surveillance systems, develop national approaches to maternity triage and induction of labour, and review neonatal capacity and service resilience. Further progress has also been made in strengthening bereavement care services and ensuring the voice and experience of women, families and service users are central to service improvement.

The programme is also taking forward the development of a national maternity and neonatal dashboard, improved safety monitoring arrangements, and actions to support consistent standards of care across Wales. In parallel, learning from major maternity inquiries and reviews, including Ockenden and Amos is being incorporated into the programme to ensure that lessons are embedded systematically across NHS Wales.

With strong governance arrangements now in place and delivery underway against the report's recommendations, the focus is now on maintaining momentum, accelerating implementation and ensuring that improvements result in safer, higher-quality care and better outcomes for women, babies and families across Wales. The Welsh Government will continue to hold the NHS to account for delivering these improvements and will maintain close oversight of progress through the National Programme Board and wider national assurance arrangements.