The shelves of Stormont’s government departments are already creaking under the accumulated weight of the volumes of expert reports gathered over the years and which contain recommendations about how to improve some important aspect of public services.
It is the instinct of ministers and their civil servants to order these reports at the first sign of trouble. When an issue is too thorny, whether because of its political implications or the sheer difficulty it presents, the impulse is to try and kick the can so far down the road that the original problem is likely to have receded from the headlines. Even if it hasn’t, the hope is that the heat will have gone out of the controversy, or that it will have become someone else’s problem.
If that sounds too cynical, it’s worth pointing out that - to take but one example - the Bengoa Report and its recommendations for transforming health and social care has spent much of the time since its publication in 2016 gathering dust, with little-to-no proper implementation.
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Since he swept into the Department of Health in May, Mike Nesbitt has given the impression of being a man in a hurry. He has already dragged Professor Rafael Bengoa back into the maelstrom and a three-year strategic plan is imminent.
Read more: Health and social care reforms can’t be dodged any longer - The Irish News view
Whether any of this will bear fruit is far from certain. However, Mr Nesbitt, who is juggling what is arguably Stormont’s toughest job with the mission impossible of party politics as UUP leader, says we should judge him on what he has achieved by 2027, when this assembly mandate is due to end.
One of the tests by which he will be measured is through the department’s response to this week’s report into midwifery and wider maternity care and services.
There is a worrying lack of consistency to the quality of care that women need and expect in pregnancy, labour and birth, and postpartum
Its recommendations should not be allowed to disappear into the same vortex that has swallowed whole libraries of other reports.
While most mothers will have had a wholly positive experience, report author Professor Mary Renfrew says that there is a worrying lack of consistency to the quality of care that women need and expect in pregnancy, labour and birth, and postpartum.
This includes “disrespectful and damaging interaction with staff”, with “deficits in care across the maternity journey”.
Prof Renfrew highlighted three critical priorities to address “immediate safety challenges”. Her concerns include postnatal care in hospital and at home, improved interdisciplinary working for women who request care “outside of guidance”, and psychological safety for staff.
Mr Nesbitt has promised the recommendations will be implemented and that improving services “is an immediate area of focus for my department and for me personally”.
Listening to women and their experiences is at least an important start.
