Update on Maternity Transformation

from Annemarie Lawrence, Director of Midwifery

This month marks a year since the publication of the final Ockenden Report, and whilst there is still work to be done, I am proud of the determination and resilience our teams have demonstrated during what has been a challenging time.

We have made good progress on the delivery of our 210 actions, whilst continuing to provide responsive and compassionate care for the thousands of women and families who choose to have their babies with us every year. Alongside this, teams are delivering the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle and many other pieces of work which form a vital part of the safe care we provide.

We remain committed to maintaining the best possible working environment for our colleagues. We are working to achieve a culture of psychological safety where individuals feel confident to escalate any matters that concern them. Whether it’s those I see at my fortnightly Director of Midwifery drop-ins, colleagues accessing support through our health and wellbeing offering, or the increase of 50% in the number of colleagues in maternity services

Name: Cris Knill

Job title: Senior Project Manager, Maternity Transformation Programme

1. What does your job entail?

I am the senior project manager for the Maternity Transformation Programme. My goal is to ensure all actions from the Ockenden reports are delivered following robust governance and assurance processes, alongside other maternity improvement initiatives to better maternity services at SaTH. The overarching programme aims are to reduce stillbirth, neonatal death, maternal death, and brain injury.

2. What is the best thing about your job?

I enjoy working with colleagues to create new participating in the Staff Survey (amongst the highest uplifts in England), staff are engaging with us and helping us to improve. processes and watching them work effectively, which in turn will benefit a service user.

As we have moved towards our position of safer staffing, with 24/7 consultant cover on our Delivery Suite and no current vacancies in midwifery, we are seeing student midwives who want to complete their placements with us, newly qualified midwives who want to stay with us and colleagues applying for leadership positions. This is in part thanks to our workforce plan which offers up great opportunities for learning, but also because of an improved culture that shows us people want to stay in the organisation to progress their careers.

Our teams are committed to helping women and families safely have the birth experience they want and the positive feedback we receive reinforces the progress we continue to make.

3. How does your job improve service user care at SaTH?

My job helps to improve maternity services on an operational level, which in turn provides a better experience for families and colleagues.