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Showing results for tags 'Maternity'.
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News Article
Covid: Pregnant women in Wales 'still go it alone'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Pregnant women are facing a postcode lottery over whether they can bring a partner to maternity appointments. Health boards were given flexibility in November to allow pregnant woman in low Covid rate areas to take their partners to maternity appointments. But many parts of Wales with the lowest rates are still forcing pregnant women to attend some appointments alone. There are calls, as lockdown eases, for partners Wales-wide to be allowed to all appointments and during labour. Emma Fear, 30, was not able to take her partner with her to hospital when she experienced bleeding during pregnancy in June last year and was told, alone, that she was losing her baby. She then had to repeat the news to her partner, who was waiting outside in the car. "At the time, he could have come and sat outside a pub with me, but he couldn't come with me when I'd had severe bleeding and knew I had probably lost my baby." Read full story Source: BBC News, 2 May 2021 -
Event
Communications on the maternity frontline
Patient Safety Learning posted an event in Community Calendar
untilIn this webinar from BAME Birthing With Colour, the panel shares their experiences of what communication on the maternity frontline means in practice. They'll discuss what it takes to deliver critical information clearly and sensitively across a range of scenarios - what works and hasn't worked - as well as the tools available to support the clearest of communication and highest quality of care for women, babies and their families. Join the webinar to discuss: The realities of communication on the maternity frontline. Lessons learned and what to watch out for. Cultural sensitivity. Language barriers. Different levels of understanding. How can staff know they have communicated clearly? The tools available and being developed. Register -
Content Article
The Lancet: Miscarriage matters (26 April 2021)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Maternity
Miscarriage is common, affecting one in ten women in their lifetime, with an estimated 23 million miscarriages globally. Despite this, the impact and consequences of miscarriage are underestimated, resulting in an attitude of acceptance of miscarriage and system of care which is currently fragmented and can be of poor quality. A new series of three papers published in The Lancet reviews this evidence on miscarriage and challenges many misconceptions. The authors, Siobhan Quenby, Arri Coomarasamy, and colleagues, call for a complete rethink of the narrative around miscarriage and a comprehensive overhaul of medical care and advice offered to women who have miscarriages. -
News Article
Most new mums say NHS six-week checks fail to focus on their health
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Six out of seven new mothers in England are not getting a checkup of their health six weeks after giving birth, despite such appointments becoming a new duty on the NHS last year. Just 15% of women who have recently had a child are having a dedicated consultation with a GP to discuss their physical and mental health, according to a survey by the parenting charity National Childbirth Trust (NCT). The requirement was introduced last year to boost maternal health and especially to try to identify women having psychological problems linked to childbirth such as postnatal depression. The appointments are separate to the established six-week check of a baby’s progress. However, 85% of the 893 mothers in England whom Survation interviewed last month for NCT said their appointments were mainly or equally about the baby’s health and they did not get the chance to talk to the GP about their mental wellbeing. “It is extremely disappointing to find that only 15% of new mothers are getting an appointment focused on their wellbeing and a quarter of mums are not being asked about their mental health at all,” said NCT’s chief executive, Angela McConville. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 22 April 2021 -
News Article
NHSE sends improvement director into struggling acute trust
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Regulators have sent an improvement director into a North West acute trust amid multiple allegations of poor care and ‘cover up’ across different specialties. University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Foundation Trust, which spent 18 months in special measures midway through the last decade, is again now the subject of significant regulatory intervention from NHS England. The regulator has appointed Simon Bennett as a board-level improvement director, which comes after he undertook a similar assignment at the struggling Stockport FT. It comes amid ongoing external investigations into the trust’s urology and trauma and orthopaedics specialties, where serious allegations have been made about attempts to cover up poor care. The trust has a troubled history of care failings and regulatory intervention, including a major maternity scandal which culminated in the Kirkup Inquiry in the first half of the 2010s, and being placed in special measures in 2014. It was widely recognised that positive progress was subsequently made to implement the inquiry recommendations and improve services, which culminated in the trust exiting special measures in late 2015, and being rated “good” by the CQC in early 2017. However, the recent allegations and investigations have again brought regulatory intervention. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 20 April 2021 -
News Article
Maternity scandal investigation has received nearly 200 cases, says family
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Nearly 200 families have now reported experiences of poor maternity and neonatal care in East Kent, according to the family whose baby’s death sparked both an independent investigation and a court case against the trust. Baby Harry Richford died seven days after his birth at the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, Hospital in Thanet in 2017. Next week, the Care Quality Commission is taking East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust to court, alleging it failed to meet fundamental standards of care in the treatment of both Harry and his mother Sarah. An independent investigation, led by Bill Kirkup, is also looking into maternity and neonatal services at the trust. In a statement, the Richford family told HSJ they had had numerous contacts from other families who had had bad experiences of maternity and neonatal care at the trust. “We have encouraged such families to come forward to the Kirkup Inquiry and now believe that the number of families is approaching 200,” they said. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 16 April 2021 -
News Article
Maternity units told to meet target staffing levels by next April
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS maternity units have been told they have until next April to increase the numbers of midwives on wards to expected levels after a near £100 million investment. NHS England has told hospitals they must bring staffing levels for midwives up the levels needed to meet their planned demand from mothers and to ensure women get safe care. In a letter to NHS trusts, England’s chief nurse Ruth May said she expected hospitals to use their share of a recent £96 million investment by NHS England to boost staffing levels along with extra spending from local budgets. NHS England has carried out an analysis of demand and supply with Health Education England as part of a four year plan to boost the number of midwives. Hospitals are expected to set the level of midwives needed to deliver more one-to-one care and to try and ensure more than half of women see the same midwife throughout their pregnancy. Read full story Source: The Independent, 13 April 2021 -
News Article
‘I felt humiliated’: parents respond to NHS maternity care racial bias inquiry
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Feeling manipulated into having medical procedures, dismissed by professionals and labelled with racial stereotypes are among the complaints of parents who responded to a national inquiry into racial injustice in UK maternity care. A panel established by the charity Birthrights is investigating discrimination ranging from explicit racism to racial bias and microaggressions that amount to poorer care. It comes as parliament is due on 19 April to debate the large racial disparity in maternal mortality in British hospitals, after a petition from the campaign group Five X More gathered 187,519 signatures. Black women are four times more likely than white women to die during pregnancy or childbirth in the UK. Testimonies include that of a British Bangladeshi woman who said her labour concerns were dismissed. “I felt unsafe and like maternity professionals are not used to being challenged by brown women,” she said. “There is a stereotype of Asian women that we are tame, quiet and compliant people who have no voice and will be obedient. “I was treated like a vessel, not like a human. The experience left me feeling humiliated, disempowered and ashamed.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 13 April 2021 -
Content ArticleThis study, published in Midwifery, concludes: "An analysis of retrospective Albany Midwifery Practice statistics over 12.5 years has shown positive outcomes for women and babies in socially disadvantaged and BAME groups, including those with complex pregnancies and perceived risk factors. This study adds weight to a growing body of evidence linking relational midwifery continuity of carer with improved outcomes and policies identifying that all pregnant women should receive midwifery continuity of carer throughout the continuum of pregnancy, birth and new motherhood."
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Event
Baby Lifeline: Maternity Safety Conference 2021
Sam posted an event in Community Calendar
This conference will bring together maternity professionals, system leaders, subject specialists and patients and families to present the latest evidence on the safety of maternity care today, share examples of positive improvement and best practice and hear from senior leaders about the next steps in the national maternity safety programme. Further information and registration -
News ArticleMental health "hubs" for new, expectant or bereaved mothers are to be set up around England. The 26 sites, due to be opened by next April, will offer physical health checks and psychological therapy in one building. NHS England said these centres would provide treatment for about 6,000 new parents in the first year. Five years ago, 40% of areas in England had no dedicated maternal mental health services. Things have improved since then with some specialist services available in each of the 44 local NHS areas in England. But in the NHS's Long Term Plan, published in 2019, the health service pledged to offer more "evidence-based" support, including to partners and families through these hubs or "outreach clinics". The NHS hopes to offer services to people with moderate-to-severe difficulties, whereas earlier investment focused on the most acutely unwell mothers. These clinics will "integrate maternity, reproductive health and psychological therapy for women experiencing mental health difficulties directly arising from, or related to, the maternity experience," NHS England said. Read full story Source: 5 April 2021
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Content ArticleTokophobia is an extreme fear of pregnancy and childbirth; it causes severe psychological distress and can have far reaching consequences. Despite this, tokophobia is under-researched and many healthcare professionals have never heard of it, explains Sarah-Jane Archibald in this BMJ Opinion article.
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News ArticleMaternity services are at risk because demoralised midwives are planning to quit the NHS, healthcare leaders have warned. A new report, carried out by the Institute for Public Policy Research, suggests 8,000 midwives may depart due to the “unprecedented pressure” of the coronavirus pandemic. Researchers, who surveyed about 1,000 healthcare professionals from around the country in mid-February, discovered that two-thirds reported being mentally exhausted once a week or more. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Independent, 31 March 2021
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Content ArticleThis video introduces England's 15 Patient Safety Collaboratives (hosted by Academic Health Science Networks) and how they support the NHS Patient Safety Strategy in areas such as COVID-19, managing deteriorating patients, maternal and neonatal safety, medicines safety, mental health and more. Download the slides here
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Content ArticleWomen with little-to-no English continue to have poor birth outcomes and low service user satisfaction. When language support services are used it enhances the relationship between the midwife and the woman, improves outcomes and ensures safer practice. However, this study has shown a reluctance to use professional interpreter services by midwives. This study from Bridle et al. aims to understand the experiences of midwives using language support services.
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News Article
Royal College of Midwives calls for a Digital Midwife in every maternity service
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has launched a new positioning statement to call for a Digital Midwife in every maternity service in the next 12 months. The trade union, which represents the majority of practising midwives, has called for every trust to recruit or train Digital Midwives to lead on digital transformation programmes and ensure systems that are introduced are interoperable. The RCM has said it’s not just a call for investment but a need to ‘drive forward digital transformation and clinical informatics of maternity care’. Hermione Jackson, RCM Digital Advisor, said: “For too long maternity services have been overlooked, passed over and generally left at the back of the queue when it comes to digital investment. Investing in digital technology and giving staff the training and equipment they need will lead to better care, regardless of where that care is delivered. “There is clear evidence that more and better use of digital technology is supported by women, midwives, maternity support workers and other maternity staff. We need the Government and hospital Trusts and Boards to give maternity services the tech they need to do their jobs even better. Improvements have been happening but at a snail’s pace and we need to see this move much more rapidly simply to catch-up with other areas of the NHS.” The RCM said it will be publishing new guidance on electronic record keeping for midwives and maternity support workers later in March. Read full story Source: Health Tech Newspaper, 16 March 2021 -
News ArticleThe NHS is to spend almost £100m to make maternity units across the NHS safer for mothers and babies in a major victory for families and The Independent – which has been campaigning for better training for midwives and doctors. NHS England announced the investment on Thursday in response to the care scandal at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust. As well as boosting the numbers of midwives and doctors on wards, NHS England said the money would include an extra £26.5m for safety training for midwives and doctors across England. The £96m represents one of the biggest investments in maternity services for decades. A total of £46m will be to used to recruit 1,000 extra midwives along with £10m for the equivalent of 80 extra doctors. As well as training cash will also be used to create new roles to oversee trusts safety and help recruit staff from overseas. The investment is a direct response to the poor care at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust where The Independent revealed in 2019 that dozens of babies and mothers had died or been left brain damaged as a result of persistent poor care over decades. An inquiry is examining more than 1,860 cases, making it the largest maternity scandal in NHS history. Read full story Source: The Independent, 25 March 2021
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Content ArticleS. Dorothy Smith instinctively knew that something was wrong with her daughter Katiana, but was dismissed as a hysterical first-time mum who just couldn't cope with normal newborn crying. She wrote a guest post for the Hysterical Women website, which can be accessed via the link below.
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News ArticleA previously secret report into children’s services at a scandal-hit NHS hospital has revealed concerns over the safety of services including care of seriously ill babies were raised with managers back in 2015. A report by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) raised serious concerns over children’s services at East Kent Hospitals University Trust in 2015 including senior consultants refusing to work beyond 5pm and a shortage of nurses and junior doctors. It also found the neonatal intensive care unit was being staffed by general paediatric doctors instead of specialist neonatal consultants. The confidential report was given to The Independent and posted on the trust’s website this week after being mentioned in the terms of reference for an independent inquiry examining dozens of baby deaths at the trust. It had never been published by the trust, which three years later had its children’s services rated inadequate. A second major report by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 2016 highlighted concerns that were not acted on and later featured in the avoidable death of baby Harry Richford, in 2017 which sparked the scandal into dozens more deaths and brain injuries. Bill Kirkup, who is leading the inquiry into East Kent’s maternity services, previously recommended Royal College reviews be registered with the CQC and shared openly by NHS trusts. In its report, the RCPCH said there was “resistance from some consultants to work extended hours” across the trust’s different services with signs of clinicians worked in silos at the different hospitals run by the trust. It warned that paediatric consultants were “spread too thinly across the service” and consultants were providing specialist clinics based on their interests rather than local need. There was “insufficient middle grade doctors to cover both sites” and there were “too few skilled nurses on the wards.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 24 March 2021
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Content Article
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In this presentation, Trixie McAree, National Midwifery Lead for Continuity of Carer, gives a comprehensive overview of the continuity of carer model and how it impacts on patient safety. Trixie also provides advice and practical tips for teams setting up the continuity of carer model and explains why this transformation is key to improving outcomes. This video provides valuable insight and can be used as a training tool for maternity teams considering this way of working. -
News Article
CQC to expand inspection programme from April
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
More Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections will take place from next month as pressures from COVID-19 continue to ease. Board papers published ahead of a meeting on Wednesday have revealed the CQC will return to inspecting and rating NHS trusts and independent healthcare services which are rated “inadequate” or “requires improvement”, alongside those where new risks have come to light. From April, the CQC also plans to carry out well-led inspections of NHS and private mental healthcare providers, and programmes of focused inspections on the safety of maternity departments and providers’ infection prevention processes. Focused inspections into emergency departments, which the CQC began in February, will continue. Inspections into GP services rated “requires improvement” and “inadequate” will also resume in April, focusing on safety, effectiveness and leadership. Finally, the papers said the watchdog would prioritise inspections of “high-risk” independent healthcare services, such as ambulances, cosmetic surgery or where closed cultures may exist. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 24 March 2021 -
Content Article
#NotNeurotic: The keeper of the caesareans
PatientSafetyLearning Team posted an article in Maternity
In this guest post for Hysterical Women, Nicola Chegwin writes about the needless stress, humiliation and anxiety of having to fight for a caesarean birth, as a disabled woman with a spinal injury. -
Content ArticleFrom early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) and Centre for Mental Health were concerned about the increased mental health challenges that women during and after pregnancy were likely facing as a result of the pandemic and government-imposed restrictions introduced to tackle it. Thanks to Comic Relief ‘Covid Recovery’ funding, the MMHA commissioned the Centre to explore just how much of a challenge the pandemic has placed on perinatal mental health and the services that support women, their partners, and families during this time. This report draws together all of the available data collected during the pandemic for the first time.
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News Article
Maternity scandal trust was warned over staffing six years ago, report reveals
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A trust being investigated over maternity care failings was urged six years ago to strengthen its neonatal staffing, HSJ can reveal. An external review into East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust — conducted in 2015 and kept under wraps until now — said it had insufficient staffing, and that medical consultants felt a lack of engagement with senior managers. The trust released the review yesterday after its existence became public for the first time earlier this month. Last year, the trust was heavily criticised at the inquest of baby Harry Richford, who died seven days after he was born at the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, Hospital in Thanet. The Care Quality Commission is taking the trust to court over the case, and is the subject of an external inquiry. Among the recommendations of the review, carried out by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, were that consultants and junior doctors covering the neonatal intensive care unit “should have responsibilities solely to that specialty”. Such a move would improve the quality and safety of the service, the review suggests. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 22 March 2021 -
Content Article
RCOG/RCM: Undermining toolkit
PatientSafetyLearning Team posted an article in Maternity
The undermining toolkit is an RCOG/Royal College of Midwives (RCM) initiative to address the challenge of undermining and bullying behaviour in maternity and gynaecology services. The toolkit is divided into four sections that can be used independently: Strategic interventions - Recommendations for over-arching institutions such as the wider NHS, GMC, RCOG, RCM and others Unit, trust and local education provider interventions- Recommendations for trusts and hospitals Departmental and team interventions - Recommendations for departments, particularly around team working between obstetricians and midwives Individual interventions - Recommendations for individual victims and perpetrators of undermining. Follow the link below for more information.
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