Welsh government highlights pharmacist staffing in neonatal and maternity care report

pharmaceutical-journal.com · Feb 27, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Pharmacy services are a “key gap in clinical provision … leading to uneven experiences for women and babies across Wales”, according to a report published by the Welsh government.In the report — ‘The path to safer beginnings in Wales: a national assurance assessment of maternity and neonatal care services’, published on 26 February 2026 — the Welsh government said that “an overall shortage of all staff groups”, including pharmacists, “was overwhelmingly the most frequently raised concern across all site visits” in the development of the report.Contributing factors to staffing problems included unsuccessful recruitment attempts, a lack of available funding to support posts and high sickness rates, the report said.It added that staffing constraints, including that of pharmacists, were found to be “directly influencing the reliability, flow, and safety of care”.In addition, the report noted that staffing for pharmacy services, as well as other services, such as psychology, physiotherapy and speech therapy, were found to be “low and in some cases absent”.“A key gap in providing integrated multidisciplinary services was reported as being inadequate numbers of allied health professionals to provide, for example, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy as well as pharmacy and psychology services,” the report said.“In some areas they were non-existent, in others they were under-staffed and none of the neonatal units currently meet BAPM [British Association of Perinatal Medicine] standards.”This meant that workforce numbers and skill mix were “not reflecting the increasing complexity of care, high sickness levels and changing models of perinatal care”.The report also suggested that current workforce modelling is frequently based around Birthrate Plus, which is a midwifery workforce modelling tool that is not aligned with “modern complexity of need”.“Staff expressed support for developing or adopting a validated postnatal acuity tool, viewing this to inform staffing decisions, support staff wellbeing and protect time for care-focused practice,” it added.The report recommended the development and implementation of a national workforce planning tool for a multidisciplinary workforce model for maternity services to mirror and integrate with the BAPM standards for neonatal services.“This should include adequate levels of allied health professionals, psychology and pharmacy, and should replace the current mandatory use of Birthrate Plus. It should also include all maternity services including antenatal, postnatal and midwifery care and services for women with additional social and cultural needs,” the report urged.“Work to develop a comprehensive multidisciplinary workforce model has begun and must now be progressed at pace.”The report was published the same day as an interim report by the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, which highlighted variation in midwifery staffing and access to transitional care across the country.The findings of an investigation conducted by the Pharmaceutical Journal, published in November 2025, found that three-quarters (75%, n=94) of neonatal units in Great Britain did not meet staffing standards set out by the Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacy Group (NPPG). This is despite medication errors being among the top three incidents reported by neonatal centres in a 2019 survey.In Wales, specifically, The Pharmaceutical Journal’s 2025 investigation also found that no health board met pharmacist whole time equivalent staffing requirements for their number and acuity of neonatal beds, while pharmacist attendance on ward rounds varied throughout Wales (see Table, below). No health boards in Wales said they employed a ward-based pharmacy technician. Last updated 27 February 2026 15:37CitationThe Pharmaceutical Journal, PJ February 2026, Vol 317, No 8006;317(8006)::DOI:10.1211/PJ.2026.1.401773