Improvement work already well underway as Care Quality Commission publishes survey into Women’s Experience of Maternity Services
MORE involvement from women and families regarding their experiences of care before, during, and after birth are at the heart of improvement plans for maternity services at Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH).
Feedback from 117 women who used the Trust’s maternity services in February 2024 has been published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) today (Thursday, 28 November).
A number of areas have been flagged by women using the service as needing improvement (described by the CQC as ‘significantly worse’ than the national average), with wide-ranging improvement action already underway to improve women’s experience of labour, birth and postnatal care.
Chief Nursing Officer at MKUH, Fiona Hoskins, said: “This survey is a vital tool to identify areas where we can enhance the experience for women and families using our maternity services. Listening to and involving more women and families in how we design and deliver improvements to our services will be at the heart of our improvement plans, so that we truly understand what makes a difference to people throughout their pregnancy, birth, and postnatal care.
“It is disappointing to see scores that compare unfavourably to the national average, because it means we have let those women and families down. We know we can do better and have already implemented changes in several areas to provide more support for those using our services.”
Among improvements already being made, a new labour ward matron has been appointed, providing senior oversight of all patient care on the ward, with a view to ensuring women in labour receive the care and support they need. The maternity team has also been restructured, with additional midwives now on the labour ward, antenatal ward and postnatal ward to support women and their families before, during and after birth.
As part of a broader postnatal improvement plan, an additional ward is now permanently open, providing seven extra beds for women and their babies.
Infant feeding is also a key focus, with feeding ward rounds introduced to support parents with their feeding choices, and a new cohort of peer support breastfeeding volunteers are being sought to join the team to provide additional assistance. The postnatal improvement plan, developed with our MNVP ( Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership) also sees the introduction of bedside handovers to ensure that women and their families are involved in the planning of their care.
More midwives are being trained to become Newborn and Infant Physical Examination (NIPE) practitioners to enable an earlier and more efficient discharge of women and their babies. The service is working closely with the MNVP to establish how best to share information with women and their families prior to discharge and during the postnatal period, and in what format women would like to receive this information.
Fiona added: “We will continue to work closely with the MNVP and wider service-user groups to deliver improvements in patient experience. We will share our improvement plans with our local communities and ensure that they are involved in making services better for them now and in the future.”
We value patient feedback, and you can share your experiences with us in several ways here
You can also speak to the Milton Keynes Maternity Voices Partnership by visiting Maternity:MK
Last Modified: 12:26pm 29/11/2024
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