In 2021, the Northamptonshire Maternity and Neonatal System undertook an Equity and Equality NHS needs assessment of maternity services in the county. The needs assessment formed the first part of a two-part process, with two aims for maternity and neonatal care:
- Equity for mothers and babies from Black, Asian and Mixed ethnic groups and those living in the most economically deprived areas
- Race equality for all staff
Equity means that all mothers, birthing people and babies will share equal health outcomes. This requires increasing support as health inequalities grow.
What does the LMNS Equity and Equality Action Plan involve?
We believe that all women, birthing people and babies who use our maternity and neonatal services should receive the best care possible, which is why we are committed to reducing health inequalities and addressing inequity – our co-produced Equity and Equality Action Plan sets out how we will do this.
Actions are grouped under 5 main priorities, these are:
- Restore NHS services inclusively
- Mitigate against digital exclusion
- Ensure datasets are complete and timely
- Accelerate preventative programmes that proactively engage those at greatest risk of poor health outcomes
- Strengthen leadership and accountability
We will review the Equity & Equality needs assessment and update the plan based on the 2021 Census data, when it is available.
Please see below our easy read action plan for 2023/2024. This will be updated each year as appropriate.
You can read the full version of our action plan here.