Maternity experiences amid the coronavirus pandemic
Download (PDF 530.68 KB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch Richmond conducted a survey with 432 people during June and July 2020. They wanted to collect data from pregnant women and women who have given birth amid the coronavirus pandemic, and their birth partner or support person.
The report found that 1 in 3 respondents said that virtual appointments felt impersonal and didn’t enable rapport to be built with the team. This sentiment was expressed during both antenatal and postnatal care. People expressed a strong preference for face to face appointments. Overall most women were satisfied with their scans and said that they found it convenient to have urine and bloods taken at the same time as their scans. Staff were regarded as caring, compassionate and professional. The majority of women said that not having a partner present at the scan and during stays at antenatal and postnatal wards, had a negative impact on them.
A number of recommendations were made in the report, which the service provider gave a detailed response to.