FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 19th December 2025
Contact: Chloe Ribeiro MNVP West Essex Maternity Lead
Local Community Event Invites Black Women, People & Families to “Tell Your Story” and Help Shape Better Maternity and Neonatal Care
Harlow, Essex – West Essex MNVP, Black and Being Essex and The Parenthood Hood Harlow are excited to bring you an event for Black women and families, with a chance to talk about your experiences of Maternity and Nonatal care at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow. We are delighted to invite local Black-owned businesses, community leaders, and residents to a free community listening event on 24 January 2026, 1-5pm at Passmores Academy, Harlow (CM18 6JH) – to hear directly from Black women, people, and families who have used maternity and neonatal services at Princess Alexandra Hospital over the past five years.
Service users’ voices are central to improving NHS maternity and neonatal care. Our event offers a welcoming space for families to share their experiences, connect with others, and help shape the future of care locally.
In 2025, Baroness Valerie Amos published an interim report into NHS maternity and neonatal services across England. Her reflections, based on listening to more than 170 families so far, highlight unacceptable care experiences in some parts of the NHS, including women who felt unheard, not given clear information, or treated without empathy. Reports also show discrimination against women of colour and other marginalised groups is a consistent theme in the evidence she has gathered. The Guardian+1
These findings echo independent national evidence that racial inequalities persist in maternity outcomes and care experiences, with Black women and babies facing significantly worse outcomes compared with white counterparts. Care Quality Commission
The MNVP is independent, grounded in lived experience, and committed to anti-racist engagement and improvement. We work with Princess Alexandra Hospital and health partners to use real feedback from recent service users to influence change, promote compassionate, equitable care and ensure every voice is heard.
At the “Tell Your Story” event, attendees can:
- Take part in a listening session where they can tell us about their experiences of Maternity and Neonatal care at PAH in Harlow.
- Shop at The BABE Marketplace where they can support Black owned businesses
- Have some free food and drinks
- Enjoy some entertainments for kids
- Meet the Director of Midwifery and senior maternity representatives
Local Black-owned businesses are encouraged to attend, support, and help spread the word, especially those connected to families who have experienced care at Princess Alexandra Hospital in recent years.
“We know that change doesn’t happen without listening,” says Chloe Ribeiro. “This event is about collecting stories, valuing them, learning from them, and ensuring decision makers truly understand what families have felt, needed, and experienced.”
This event is part of a wider commitment to centre the experiences of the Black community and other groups who have historically been under-represented in feedback processes and whose voices are essential to safer, fairer, anti-racist maternity and neonatal care.
Free entry. Everyone welcome.
For more information, contact: Chloe Ribeiro, chloe.ribeiro@nhs.net
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