New report sharing learning and best practice in maternity
Birmingham Women’s Hospital has welcomed a new report sharing learning and best practice in maternity care that could use positive change to impact the lives of women.
Staff from the hospital joined professionals from more than 40 maternity centres from across the UK and representatives from Royal Colleges at a national workshop to share examples of quality improvement work to improve the provision of induction of labour.
The result is a report that, for the first time, brings together a host of proven changes that can improve services, care and experiences for those involved in induction of labour. It was launched at the British Intrapartum Care Society annual meeting on Friday and is available here.
Susie Crowe, President British Intrapartum Care Society which published the report, entitled Ideas and Resources for Improving Induction of Labour Practices, said the document was an excellent starting point that shared good ideas and recognized the complexity and different challenges being faced locally.
She said: “This document is a real example of the positive change that can come about when you get midwives, obstetricians, and service users in a room together with a shared vision. There is so much passion and drive in the system to co-produce, listen to women, and create services that promote safe, personalised, equitable care for all.
“What we are increasingly learning however is that services are have more in common with each other than ways in which they differ, and there is a real opportunity to learn from excellence, collaborate, and form networks that create change.
“This document, with its focus on co-production and improving experience has the potential to impact so many women in the UK during one of the most transformative times of their lives.”
Changing national guidelines and policies over induction of labour in recent years and rising reports of birth trauma made the report and important piece of work that should be embraced by maternity professionals across the UK.
The report identified five key themes. They are:
- Improving women’s experiences throughout the IOL pathway and process.
- Developing tools to support informed consent for IOL or expectant management.
- Prioritising women within the IOL queue.
- Reducing delays within the IOL process.
- Using technology to support the IOL pathway.
Among the examples in the report are details of development of a decision aid and information leaflet for women, increasing outpatient induction, co-design of facilities for induction of labour, development of a RAG rating system for prioritising women admitted to hospital and transferring to Labour ward, introducing ‘safe gestational ranges’ for induction, introduction of a Flow and Capacity co-ordinator, improving induction within the Electron Patient Record and Virtual Outpatient induction.
Sharon Morad, Consultant Obstetrician at Birmingham Women’s Hospital, helped to shape the report sharing a number of examples of Quality Improvement Work from the hospital.
She said: “It has been such a privilege to share our learning at Birmingham Women’s Hospital and to learn from the clinicians and service users throughout the UK who have been willing to share the challenges and successes that have improved the safety and quality of the care they provide.
“Through this document, teams have freely shared resources and good ideas which can be adapted for local contexts. It is our hope that this will provide a springboard for further quality improvement work that will benefit the women undergoing induction of labour and the staff caring for them.”
View Ideas and Resources for Improving Induction of Labour Practices here