You may have seen media coverage of the recently published Ockenden Review and the Amos Report, both of which highlight important lessons for maternity and neonatal services across England.

First and foremost, we want to acknowledge the women, babies and families whose experiences have contributed to these reports. We are deeply sorry for those who have experienced harm, loss or trauma. It is right that these experiences are listened to, understood and acted upon.

We recognise that reading about these reports may be upsetting or worrying, particularly if you are currently receiving maternity care, have recently had a baby, or if aspects of the reports resonate with your own experiences. We want to reassure you that your voice matters and that listening to women and families remains at the heart of safe and compassionate care.

At Royal Devon, the safety, wellbeing and experience of women, babies and families is our absolute priority. We welcome the publication of these reports and the opportunity to learn from them. We will carefully review the findings and recommendations and use them, alongside our existing improvement work, to continue strengthening the care we provide.

We want women and families to remain confident in the care they receive from our maternity and neonatal teams across Exeter and North Devon. We are proud of the dedication, expertise and commitment shown by our teams, whilst also recognising that there is always more we can learn and improve upon.

Where care does not meet the standards that women and families rightly expect, we are committed to being open, listening carefully, learning from concerns and acting to improve.

We work closely with our Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP) to ensure the experiences of women and families help shape our services. The MNVP plays an important role in representing family voices and helping us understand what is working well and where improvements are needed.

If you have concerns about your care, we would encourage you to speak with your community midwife in the first instance. They will listen to your concerns and help ensure they are addressed appropriately. You can also contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) or your local Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP) for support and feedback.

If you would like to speak directly with a senior maternity or neonatal leader, please let your community midwife or MNVP know and we will arrange this.

We remain committed to listening, learning and working together with women, families, staff and partners to ensure every family receives compassionate, high-quality care before, during and after birth and where they can have confidence in the care they receive.

Thank you for your continued trust in our maternity and neonatal services.

Sam Higginson

Chief Executive Officer