Britain's obstetricians and midwives have agreed to co-operate to break down traditional rivalries on hospital wards. Better teamwork and leadership are needed to improve quality of care in childbirth, it was agreed at a key government meeting last week.

The decision follows a highly critical report by the Healthcare Commission claiming maternity services were not good or safe enough.

The commission highlighted a lack of effective leadership, a lack of communication between staff and incomplete record-keeping. An action group has been set up to advise on how quality and safety can be improved over the next five years.

'I have asked the different organisations to look at new ways of working around the needs of women and their babies, rather than doing things for professional convenience,' said Health Minister Liam Byrne. 'The innovations we need can only be delivered by teams working well together, not by one individual, and that's what the commission report showed.'

He said that for too long it had been accepted there was a trade-off between safety and quality over childbirth, with women having little say in the matter. 'The old stand-offs that used to happen occasionally between clinicians and midwives have to stop. Safety and quality of care both matter when it comes to giving birth.'

Earlier this year, The Observer's Better Birth Campaign called on ministers to give priority to improving the physical state of the wards and to do more to ensure that women would have one-to-one care during births.

We highlighted the fact that many women were shocked by the lack of care and the dirty state of the wards. Many complained that they did not receive enough support on the post-natal wards, and that often staff did not seem to talk to each other enough about problems.

The action group will look at changes which could include offering women more choice in where they give birth - smaller midwife-led units or larger hospitals - and in the kind of postnatal care they receive.