Volume 1, Issue 2 ISSN 2632-363X
Sharing learning on safer care for mothers and babies Ann Remmers1, Nathalie Delaney1, Heather Pritchard2, Sally Hedge3, Shomais Amedick1, Julie Edwards4, Dr Anita Sinha4, Anne Baxter4, Kathryn Owen4, Dr K Girish Gowda4, Christina Rattigan4, Charlotte Wallen4, Karin Jones4, Donna Johnson4, Julie Herring4, Dr Smita Sinha5, Sue Fulker5, Nicky Van-Eerde5, Dr Nicola Johnson5, Lucy Duncombe5, Tracey Sargent6
Abstract or Summary Maternal and neonatal services operate in a complex and demanding environment, and leaders at all levels should ensure the safety of both staff and the women and babies being cared for. It is everyone’s responsibility to contribute to developing and nurturing a culture that avoids harm, promotes learning whether the outcomes are good or bad, and enables staff to speak up about concerns in order to drive improvement in quality. The national Maternal and Neonatal Health Safety Collaborative (MNHSC) was launched in February 2017 and is a three-year programme led by the NHS Improvement’s National Patient Safety team. The MNHSC aims to: Improve the safety and outcomes of maternal and neonatal care by reducing unwarranted variation and provide high quality healthcare experience for all women, babies, and families across England. The collaborative is structured into three waves, each running April to March. During a 12-month wave there are three phases: diagnosis, testing, and refining and scale up. Trusts receive support from a named NHS Improvement Manager, as well as a safety culture assessment, and three national learning sets (3 days each). There is a national sharing day at the end of each wave. Local units in Wave 2 have shared their learning from quality improvement projects aligned to the national driver diagram, and demonstrated positive impact for mothers, babies and staff across the region. Nationally, results from the culture surveys have been collated to identify themes and actions for improvement in safety culture. Using a structured quality improvement approach has enabled staff working in the maternal and neonatal setting to work together to improve care aligned with the national clinical drivers. Culture will only improve if everyone supports the changes required, and when quality improvement was linked to improvements in safety culture, both the quality of care and culture improved.
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West of England Academic Health Science Network, NHS England & NHS Improvement, South West Academic Health Science Network,
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Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust University Hospitals Plymouth.
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