FALKLAND ISLANDS GOVERNMENT
PRESS STATEMENT
20 November 2025
KEMH Welcomes Findings of Independent Maternity Service Review
The King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) welcomes the findings of the recent external, independent review of its maternity service.
The full external review of the maternity service was carried out last month and was conducted by Dr Sophia Stone who is based at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. Dr Stone is an experienced Consultant Obstetrician who is the Lead for Sussex Maternal Medicine Network as well as an honorary associate professor at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. She was accompanied by Heather Woods, who is a specialist midwife at the Sussex Maternal Medicine Centre.
The review assessed as a starting point whether the action plan relating to the care of Baby Aspyn Hercules had been rigorously implemented. Baby Aspyn passed away in October 2023, and the subsequent reviews and Inquest into her death found failings in the care provided, with the Coroner determining that the death was avoidable.
Dr Stone and Ms Woods were asked to examine in detail the KEMH’s progress against a 42-point action plan drawn up after the previous external review in March 2024 and to provide a broader assessment of maternity services, using Care Quality Commission (CQC) style domains of safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.
It is encouraging that the findings of the review have concluded that, overall, maternity services are rated as “good” on a CQC-style framework.
The report recognises:
- A very different culture and attitude towards maternity in KEMH.
- Strong multidisciplinary team working, including weekly obstetric MDT meetings and refreshed governance structures.
- Significant investment in training and development, including UK-based placements and regular simulation drills.
- Clear improvements in antenatal care pathways, fetal monitoring, risk assessment and access to specialist advice.
- Greater focus on service user engagement, including the appointment of a maternity services champion.
The review does highlight historic issues, including information received from anonymous service user e-mail feedback, in relation to documentation, incident reporting, communication and the overseas referral process. Importantly, the report notes that many of these concerns have already been addressed over the past 18 months, and that changes observed during this review have improved some of the very issues raised by families and service users since 2020.
At the same time, the findings of the review are clear that there is still more to do. In particular, they recommend:
- Further strengthening of record keeping and documentation, including consistent use of handheld maternity and neonatal notes.
- Continued development of incident reporting and audit, including maternity-specific triggers.
- Ongoing improvements to the overseas referral pathway, ensuring smoother handover of care.
- Continued efforts to improve prenatal and postnatal support, breastfeeding support, mental health awareness and communication with families.
The KEMH accepts these recommendations. Many are already in progress; others will be built into the next phase of the KEMH’s maternity improvement plan.
Falkland Islands Government Director of Health and Social Services John Woollacott said: “This independent review confirms that our maternity service has come a long way in a relatively short time. The reviewers recognise the extensive work undertaken since 2024 and have rated the service as ‘good’ overall, which is very welcome. However, ‘good’ is not the end point. We know we must continue to improve, particularly in areas such as documentation, incident reporting, overseas referrals and how we support women and families before and after birth. We are committed to implementing all of the review’s recommendations in a way that is realistic for a remote community like the Falkland Islands but always prioritises safety and person-centred care”.
“Maternity services will remain a priority for the KEMH with progress against the new recommendations monitored through established governance meetings and reported to the community in an open and transparent way”.
“I want to thank our maternity staff for their hard work and dedication, and the women and families who have shared often very difficult experiences to help us learn. Their voices will continue to shape the future of maternity services here”.
The report is available to be viewed, in full, at the following address: https://www.falklands.gov.fk/health/downloads
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ENDS