Our Response to the Government's 10-year health plan in England

MAMA Academy recognises that the government’s 10-year health plan in England identifies serious shortcomings and outlines ambitious technological interventions. However, we remain deeply concerned that the proposed measures fall short of urgently needed, person-focused maternity care reforms.

Firstly, the promise of yet another national investigation and taskforce raises critical questions about urgency and accountability. It is wholly unacceptable that such an inquiry is only now being initiated, despite longstanding knowledge of systematic failures. Families have faced years of preventable harm and bereavement, and another protracted review feels like yet more delay rather than decisive action. The government must immediately implement tangible measures to rectify known, longstanding deficiencies, not just promise to put together an action plan in the future.

The proposal for a Single Patient Record (SPR) system rightly highlights current failures in personalised maternity care. However, there is an inherent risk of digital poverty exacerbating inequalities. The NHS’s slow adoption and inconsistent implementation of digital systems already disadvantages communities with limited digital access or literacy. Relying heavily on technology without a parallel investment in infrastructure, training, and inclusive accessibility measures risks leaving behind the most vulnerable families who are precisely those most at risk from poor maternity outcomes.

Moreover, the reliance on artificial intelligence through the Federated Data Platform (FDP) and the Maternity Outcomes Signal System (MOSS) may introduce unintended consequences. While real-time data monitoring is valuable, over-reliance on AI to flag deteriorating standards must not overshadow the critical human element at the heart of maternity care. The government must ensure that AI supports rather than replaces human judgment, empathy, and personalised care, which are scientifically proven to significantly improve maternal and neonatal outcomes. A commitment to invest in AI when as many as 8 out of 10 newly qualified midwives struggle to find work is a disappointment.

The government’s intention to use Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) and Patient-Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) is commendable but insufficiently ambitious. Delaying universal implementation until 2029 is unacceptable. Families require immediate improvement, and there is no justifiable reason why the systematic collection and publication of women’s experiences cannot occur sooner, particularly given existing methodologies and widespread precedent in other medical fields. Timely feedback loops are essential to drive rapid, effective responses to identified failings.Maryam’s experience illustrates perfectly the gap between the government’s promises and the reality faced by  families. Good intentions cannot compensate for chronic underfunding, overstretched staff, and systemic failings. Conflicting advice and lack of personalised postnatal support are not isolated incidents, they are systemic issues driven by staffing shortages, insufficient training, and inadequate resource allocation. Technology alone cannot fix these fundamentally human-centred problems.

We urge the government to immediately prioritise person-focused maternity care. This requires clear, swift, and accountable action beyond digital solutions, addressing systemic staff shortages, training deficiencies, equitable resource allocation, and genuinely responsive patient feedback mechanisms. Maternity care must be holistic, personalised, and fundamentally human-driven, supported, but never replaced, by technology.