LOTHIAN MATERNITY SERVICES LIAISON COMMITTEE
TERMS OF REFERENCE
Introduction
There is a requirement in every health board for an effective Maternity Services liaison
Committee (MSLC) where commissioners of the service, providers and users of maternity
services develop services in partnership.
An MSLC is an independent advisory body which has a key role in the implementation of the
national and local maternity services directives, Public Involvement in the NHS and Clinical
Governance together with wider strategic involvement in all aspects of maternity care
education, provision and policy. The MSLC comprises representative clinicians from all
specialisms involved in the care of expectant women and their babies, together with relevant
commissioners, managers, public health and social care input and at least one third user
representation.
Maternity Services need to be appropriate, acceptable and accessible to the local population.
For this reason users need to be involved in the planning and monitoring of services. All
MSLC members should recognise the positive contribution that user members can make,
strive to ensure broad representation and improve their effectiveness through the provision of
support and training.
Mission Statement
The Lothian Maternity Services Liaison Committee has the following mission :
To ensure the best quality of maternity services is available to the women of Lothian
The diverse skills of all the committee members will be combined to influence the planning
and development of the service.
Aims and Objectives
1. The Lothian MSLC will advise Lothian NHS Board on all aspects of maternity services
provided for its residents, including :
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Strategy for maternity services
Progress on maternity services initiatives within Lothian, South East &
Tayside region (SEAT) and at national level.
Clinical Governance within maternity services : quality standards and ways
of monitoring standards / education / guidelines for clinical care / clinical risk
assessment / audit programme / monitoring of users’ views.
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Equity of service delivery across Lothian
Communication between health professionals and the public
2. The MSLC will ensure that Lothian NHS Board takes account of the views of women and
families using the service.
3. Members will normally be appointed for 4 years and will be eligible for reappointment.
Changes in membership should be staggered to allow for continuity.
Membership list
Users

User members (nominated by voluntary maternity organisations – NCT, AIMS, MEHIP,
LGBT group, Breastfeeding Support group, SANDS, Miscarriage Association - local
women’s or community groups).
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Users’ Panel / Forum
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Local Health Council
Lothian NHS Board
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Maternity & Child Health Commissioner
Clinical Governance Manager
Public Health Consultant
Health Promotion Officer
Local Supervisor Authority and Midwifery Officer
Acute Care
 Director of Operations
 Clinical Director
 Consultants (G&O, Neonatology, Anaesthetics)
 Chief Midwife
 Consultant Midwife
 Practicing Midwife
 Agreed Midwifery Clinical Managers / specialist midwives
Primary care / CHPs
 Midwifery Clinical Manager
 Community Midwife
 GP
 Health Visitor
 Physiotherapy
Local Authority
 Social services
Colleges and Universities
4. Each member should have a named deputy who can attend in their absence.
5. Members of the committee should liaise with the groups or professions they represent.
This will include regular reporting on the activities of the MSLC to their group / colleagues and
feedback to the MSLC.
6. Out-of-pocket expenses will be payable to user members of the committee. This covers
travelling expenses, child care and loss of earnings.
7. Members shall be given reasonable access to Lothian Health library.
8. All new members should receive background and briefing information and meet the chair of
the MSCL, if they wish to, before their first meeting. Where possible there should be a
systematic hand-over between members representing the same group or profession.
9. The officer appointed to serve the committee will provide information to members of the
committee and identify any training needs that they may have.
Chair
10. The Chair and Vice Chair of the committee will be elected by the membership for a period
of 2 years. The Chair should normally be a lay member. If there is no lay member willling
to take on the role of chair, the health board, in consultation with the committee, will
consider who would have an independent perspective and be able to take on the role.
Where the chair is not a user member, a lay member should be encouraged to take the
role of vice chair.
11. In the rare absence of the Chair and Vice Chair, members shall elect one person to take
the chair for the duration of the meeting.
Committee Proceedings
12. All members will have voting rights.
13. The Chair may invite individuals on an ad-hoc basis to a meeting for a particular item.
14. The MSLC may set up multidisciplinary subgroups that include user members on an adhoc basis to work on specific topics and report back to the MSLC. These subgroups may
co-opt members as appropriate.
15. Meetings will be held no less than 4 times a year.
16. A quorum shall be one third of the full core MSLC membership, excluding deputies.
17. Proposed amendments to the terms of reference shall be circulated to all members in
writing at least one month before the meeting at which such amendments are to be
considered.
18. Lothian NHS Board will appoint an officer to service the committee.
19. Agenda and papers will be circulated at least 7 working days before each meeting. Any
member may ask for items to be included on the agenda.
20. The minutes of meetings will be considered public documents and circulated to members,
relevant bodies and be made available to others on request.
21. Where a member is unable to attend a meeting he/she will inform the committee secretary
before the meeting whether his/her deputy will be attending the meeting. The deputy will
have full voting rights.
Annual Programme
22. Each year the MSLC will develop an action plan that outlines priorities and areas for
discussion
23. The MSLC will be consulted by the NHS Board on :
 Any proposals for changing or developing services at local, regional and national
level.
 Service specifications for maternity services and quality standards.
 Information requirements of the local population and primary health care staff on
maternity services.
 Priorities for clinical audit
 User involvement in the planning and monitoring of maternity services.
24. The MSLC will receive reports from and advise the local provider units on :
 The development of their business plan relevant to maternity services.
 Any proposal for changing or developing services.
 Clinical Governance.
 The work of the labour ward forum.
 Serious clinical incidents and complaints related to maternity services, and actions
arising therefrom.
 User involvement in the planning and monitoring of their maternity services.
25. the MSLC will review the services and be given the opportunity to feed back and make
recommendations accordingly to the appropriate Health Board Committees. This will be
facilitated by the provision of relevant information such as :
- Clinical audit reports from provider units.
- Regular summaries of comments and complaints from users.
- Satisfaction surveys carried out by service providers.
Annual Report
26. the MSLC will produce an annual report that includes :
 The work and influence of the MSLC over the past year.
 Work plan for the coming year.
 Recommendations to Lothian NHS Board.
It may also include a synopsis of local statistics and services and act as an overview
prospectus for the service providers.
27. The annual report will be discussed at the Lothian NHS Board Clinical Governance
Committee and will be widely circulated by the Health Board to appropriate bodies and all
relevant groups in the community, both statutory and non statutory, with an interest in
maternity services.
Reviewed at focus day October 2008
Agreed by Medical and Nurse Director, NHS Lothian