Maternity improvement resource
Published: 19 September 2024
Page last updated: 19 September 2024
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Frontline staff
What we look for
Well-led
Shared direction and culture
- Does the maternity service have a dedicated vision and strategy developed with you?
- Who do you raise concerns with, and how confident are you action will be taken?
Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
- Can you identify your board level safety champions?
- Describe how the service is led:
- Is the service led by an operations director, midwifery director and clinical director for obstetrics, gynaecology and neonatology?
- Are your leaders, at all levels, visible in the clinical areas?
- Are the job plans clear and accurate about describing duties, responsibilities, accountabilities and objectives for medical staff, with enough time allocated to required duties and to attend meetings and training?
- How do you hear about staff vacancy and development opportunities?
Freedom to speak up
- Are you encouraged to speak up and are you given feedback after raising concerns?
Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
- Are there any actions taken in the service following the trust staff survey results? This could include people with protected characteristics or bullying and harassment.
Governance, management and sustainability
- Describe the governance arrangements:
- including regular meetings and who can attend, sharing of minutes and actions.
- Describe how relevant information escalated to the leaders.
- How are you assured policies and procedures are up to date for your use? Are you up to date with their development?
- Are you involved with any audits?
- How are clinical records completed and what are the arrangements for information sharing across the maternity pathway from antenatal to postnatal care?
Partnerships and communities
- How do you hear about the input from the maternity and neonatal voices partnership (MNVP)?
Learning, improvement and innovation
- Describe your approach to continuous quality improvement for maternity services.
- What recent improvements have been made to the service?
The importance of people's experience
- Do you receive feedback from women and families using the service?