In 2006, The King’s Fund launched an independent inquiry into the safety of maternity services. The report from that enquiry, Safe Births: Everybody’s business, made a series of recommendations about how the safety of maternity care could be improved.
Toolkit for improving safety in maternity services
Building on the recommendations from the inquiry and in partnership with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Royal College of Midwives, the NHS Litigation Authority, Centre for Maternal And Child Enquiries and the National Patient Safety Agency, The King’s Fund launched the Safer Births Improvement Programme, providing customised support to 12 multidisciplinary maternity teams in England. A new King’s Fund toolkit shares the experiences and lessons from those teams. Improving Safety in Maternity Services: a toolkit for teams is organised around five key areas for improvement in maternity care on which the teams focused – team-working; communication; training; information and guidance; staffing and leadership. Each section begins with an explanation on how focusing on improvements in each area can contribute to improved safety. It then highlights some of the experiences of maternity teams who focused on this issue and their key learning points. There are also short summaries of tools that can be used to improve safety. These provide a brief guide on how to use the tool and signpost further resources. Also included are examples or templates that can be used or adapted for local use. The challenges facing maternity teams are likely to increase with the financial pressures on the NHS. However, many of the changes described in the toolkit do not need additional funding. They need time and commitment, leadership and some knowledge. The tips and tools aim to help maternity teams implement changes that will deliver benefits to women and families.
