From Ipsos today, funded by Sky TV News, its massive 378 000 ‘survey’ of social media comment on maternity services ‘across the UK‘, appears to suggest (above) that discontent is greatest in Scotland:
The prevalence of predominantly negative sentiment signifies an existing tension in society about the experience of maternity care in the UK, with little difference in the pattern by nations (Scotland had a slightly higher share of negative than Northern Ireland, which had a slightly higher share of positive)
It’s nonsense and, regardless of it’s serious scale, no doubt cost and the Ipsos banner, I could teach 11 year-olds why it is nonsense.
Ipsos, know it’s nonsense and admit as much with this:
It should be understood, therefore, that social media data is not the same as a representative survey of the population; not everyone is on social media, and the topics those who are choose to talk about on social media may not be a representative selection of all the experiences they face.
https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/ipsos-synthesio-publication-research-partnership-sky-news
This means:
Social listening data tends to overrepresent:
- people with very strong experiences,
- younger and more digitally engaged groups,
- campaigners,
- urban populations,
- and negative experiences (because people are more likely to post when something went wrong).
So while the survey is useful for:
- understanding what kinds of problems exist,
- how people describe them,
- and what issues generate strongest concern,
…it cannot reliably tell us:
- what percentage of all maternity patients experienced those problems,
- whether rates are rising or falling nationally,
- or exact regional prevalence.
In simply terms for all its size, it just another ‘squeaky wheel’ survey.
Returning to the ‘Scotland had a slightly higher share of negative’, why is this so wrong, objectively so?
England’s maternity system has faced a uniquely severe crisis in recent years.
The scale of formal scrutiny in England is extraordinary:
- multiple [12-14] major independent investigations,
- repeated maternity scandals,
- criminal investigations involving police,
- dozens of NHS trusts under review,
- and now the national investigation led by Baroness Valerie Amos. https://www.matneoinv.org.uk/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
That is not mirrored in Scotland at all.
The Amos investigation itself exists because of widespread and repeated failures across English maternity and neonatal services. It was commissioned after meetings with bereaved families and is examining maternity care across England as a system-wide problem. https://www.matneoinv.org.uk/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
The investigation has already described:
- “unacceptable care,”
- avoidable harm,
- racism,
- bullying,
- failures to listen to women,
- and deep cultural problems. https://www.russell-cooke.co.uk/news-and-insights/news/baroness-amos-publishes-the-independent-investigation-into-maternity-and-neonatal-services-in-england-interim-report?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Some English trusts have also been linked to:
- police involvement,
- coronial concerns,
- allegations of record falsification,
- and long-running institutional cover-up claims.
Meanwhile, Scotland has not experienced:
- a national maternity inquiry of equivalent scale,
- repeated trust-level scandals comparable to Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust maternity scandal or East Kent maternity scandal,
- or comparable police-linked scrutiny around maternity services.
That asymmetry is highly significant.
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