Snapshot: Safer maternity services

In June 2009 The Health Foundation began supporting a two-year programme of work to improve the safety of maternity services. This Snapshot sets out some of the key learning points which have so far developed from that programme.

Four NHS organisations are involved in the programme:

• Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust
• Luton and Dunstable NHS Foundation Trust
• NHS Tayside
• North Bristol NHS Trust 

The participants have been looking at a range of improvement activities, and a number of key learning points have emerged from this work so far:

• Building bridges between two philosophies must be encouraged. Midwifery and obstetrics teams must learn to work together closely despite their very different philosophies.
• Obtaining leadership commitment is vital. Effective communications between senior leaders and frontline staff will be integral to success.
• Effective, motivated leadership in clinical areas is essential to progress and success. Projects have been much more successful when they have been supported locally by clinicians.
• Resources to drive improvement in maternity are scarce. The volume of work in the maternity centres is impressive relative to the staffing, and the ratio appears to have worsened in the past few years in three of the four sites involved in this particular programme.
• You need staff with the right skills. Knowledge of fundamental improvement skills in maternity units remains weak, even when organisations have been involved in hospital-wide improvement efforts. This is perhaps because of the relative isolation of maternity divisions within hospitals.