Summer Awards Reception 2009 - APPG on Maternity

<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">Maternity Awards for Innovative Services 2009 </div> The All Party Parliamentary Group on Maternity (APPGM) was established in November 2001 to raise the profile of maternity services within Parliament. Over the last eight years, it has hosted meetings on different aspects of maternity services ranging from the Children’s NSF to domestic violence to breastfeeding. This is also the APPGM’s eighth annual reception – our ‘fun’ event of the year. The Reception gives us the opportunity to highlight areas of good practice around the country as the APPG also use the reception to present awards to maternity units that make a difference to families in their area. <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img style="WIDTH: 330px; HEIGHT: 214px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct101.jpg&type=image" width="330" height="214" wfxsrc="nct101.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /></div> Maternity Units across England are asked to nominate themselves or others for the Maternity Services Awards. This year, we invited units to nominate themselves for awards based on five key themes and over 40 submissions were received in all. The awards were for: Practices to promote: • Inclusive services for disadvantaged groups and communities • Normal birth • Responsive, woman-centred, family focused postnatal care • Tailoring services to meet the needs of fathers • Involvement of women in improving local maternity services In total, eight outstanding maternity units won awards and a further five units were commended. The awards acknowledged the units’ inspiring work in improving local maternity services and were presented at the reception on 9 July at the Houses of Parliament. The teams were presented their awards by Maria Eagle MP, Minister of State in the Government Equalities Office and Justice Department, Emily Thornberry MP, Chair of the APPGM, Dr David Foster, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer in the Department of Health and Gail Werkmeister, President of the NCT. The reception was attended by 200 politicians, leading health professionals and user representatives from the maternity services across England. <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img style="WIDTH: 286px; HEIGHT: 173px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct99.jpg&type=image" width="286" height="173" wfxsrc="nct99.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /><img style="WIDTH: 282px; HEIGHT: 195px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct12.jpg&type=image" width="282" height="195" wfxsrc="nct12.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /> The APPGM, which is serviced by the NCT (National Childbirth Trust) charity, highlights maternity issues within Parliament and brings together health professionals and maternity service users with politicians to enable a more collaborative working approach to improving maternity services. <img style="WIDTH: 380px; HEIGHT: 245px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct46.jpg&type=image" width="380" height="245" wfxsrc="nct46.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /> Emily Thornberry, Chair of the APPGM said; “It is a great privilege to present these awards that celebrate such deserving and exemplary maternity units. These winning units are a testament to the exceptional standards that can be achieved and their innovative work will be inspiration to other Trusts.” </div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"> </div> <img style="WIDTH: 383px; HEIGHT: 258px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct02.jpg&type=image" width="383" height="258" wfxsrc="nct02.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">Inclusive Services for Disadvantaged Groups and Communities’ award WINNER </div> <img style="WIDTH: 424px; HEIGHT: 282px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct71.jpg&type=image" width="424" height="282" wfxsrc="nct71.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">Stockport NHS Foundation Trust – Stepping Hill Hospital with Maria Eagle MP and Emily Thornberry MP </div> ‘Stockport Midwives 4Young Parents’ delivers innovative, responsive, holistic packages of care to meet the needs of young parents, with special emphasis on engaging young men and the implementation of a Contraceptive Care Plan, introduced during pregnancy. The Stockport Teenage Pregnancy Midwifery Service, delivered by two midwives, aims to improve the life chances of young parents and their babies with a strong focus on deprived wards and to provide direct midwifery care to the most vulnerable young people, for example those that are looked after by local authority. The unit also holds ‘Active and Parenting Birth Workshops’ that have been developed through consultation and feedback with young parents. These practical, monthly sessions were initially offered as a ‘one-off’ session, but young parents were enthusiastic about the workshops and asked for follow-on sessions. Their service supplements the maternity service that is available in the area. It demonstrated great user involvement and a clear model of care. <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">WINNER </div> <img style="WIDTH: 467px; HEIGHT: 310px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct50.jpg&type=image" width="467" height="310" wfxsrc="nct50.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">The Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust Woolwich - Maternity Service </div> The Best Beginnings Team provides an intensive community based preventive approach to women ‘in need’ during the antenatal to early postnatal period. The focus of the work is on reducing inequalities in health and child development. Care is tailored to individual needs. They work with multi-agency partners in the community to reduce the risk factors associated with infant and maternal mortality by addressing underlying causes of health inequality and wider social inequalities. They also promote and develop healthy lifestyles for those who are experiencing social deprivation or exclusion. They endeavour to increase homebirths, reduce caesarean section rates, assist with deliveries, assist in reducing length of stay in hospital, promote breastfeeding and encourage fathers to become more actively involved. They also use questionnaires which are completed by mothers who use the service. These, alongside their engagement in multi agency work and extensive individual meetings with the mothers/parents-to-be, has led to the unit increasing the number of referrals to their service. Users also continue to utilise the service for support even after the birth of their children <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">HIGHLY COMMENDED </div> <img style="WIDTH: 495px; HEIGHT: 329px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct54.jpg&type=image" width="495" height="329" wfxsrc="nct54.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – Women and Child Health CMT </div> This service is a consultant led obstetric clinic which runs an antenatal clinic from a Sure Start Family Centre. The care delivered is both user and family centred and it provides care for a high risk disadvantaged group delivered in a holistic manner. This service was developed following the publication of national data which show that the most vulnerable and at risk women often do not access adequate antenatal care for a variety of reasons including access problems, fear of institutions and a lack of knowledge on available services. The service also ran an outreach clinic from hospital to raise awareness of Sure Start services to a wider group of women. <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">HIGHLY COMMENDED </div> <img style="WIDTH: 504px; HEIGHT: 335px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct57.jpg&type=image" width="504" height="335" wfxsrc="nct57.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – Queens Maternity Unit with Dr David Foster </div> This unit obtained funding from the Children’s Partnership to set up a group for teenage and vulnerable mothers in their area. The project demonstrated good partnership working with care and education skills. The group, of pregnant and postnatal mothers, meets weekly at the Sure Start Children’s Centre. The group teaches basic parenting skills, such as budgeting and cooking, and a Nursery Nurse and Family Support Worker attend the meetings also to help with the health of the baby and provide information on education, benefits and grants. <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Normality of Childbirth award WINNER <img style="WIDTH: 503px; HEIGHT: 335px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct26.jpg&type=image" width="503" height="335" wfxsrc="nct26.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /> </div> <img style="WIDTH: 513px; HEIGHT: 341px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct16.jpg&type=image" width="513" height="341" wfxsrc="nct16.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust – Blackburn and Burnley Unit with local MP’s Jack Straw, Kitty Usher and Janet Anderson </div> The objective of this service was to increase the use of water in both labour and birth and to promote homebirths within the community. There was a notable increase in the water birth rate and the home birth rate doubled in their area. They produced an information leaflet on water birth and midwives attended water birth workshops to develop skills and gain confidence in this area. Home births are also actively discussed with women using the service to give women as much choice in where to have their baby as possible. Women choosing a home environment were supported to have a normal birth, and midwives went the extra mile to facilitate wishes, even when already stretched in their role. There has been an increased positive focus on promoting normal birth, which has begun to radiate through the service at a time when the working environment for midwives has been extremely difficult. This is a very innovative service, presenting fantastic outcomes. <img style="WIDTH: 492px; HEIGHT: 404px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct14.jpg&type=image" width="492" height="404" wfxsrc="nct14.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">With Kitty Usher MP HIGHLY COMMENDED </div><img style="WIDTH: 558px; HEIGHT: 372px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct29.jpg&type=image" width="558" height="372" wfxsrc="nct29.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /> Barts and the London NHS Trust – Barkantine Birth Centre with Dr.David Foster and Emily Thornberry MP. The Trust opened a freestanding birth centre in January 2009 to benefit women and enhance the choice in birth location for the women of Tower Hamlets. Women have 24hour access to midwives by telephone for advice and information and have great outcomes such as an 82% chance of having a normal birth if woman starts labour at the Birth Centre. The Unit worked closely with the Maternity Service Liaison Committee, East London Mosque and advocacy services to enhance women’s use of the service. The centre is testament to the potential of what can be achieved when a PCT, NHS Trust, the community and other stakeholders join together to bring about positive change in their local community. HIGHLY COMMENDED <img style="WIDTH: 474px; HEIGHT: 316px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct53.jpg&type=image" width="474" height="316" wfxsrc="nct53.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust – New Cross Maternity Unit with Dr David Foster </div> This unit produced a training DVD for use with the birthing pool. It can be used by doctors, midwives and support staff along with women and their families to increase confidence in using the pool. The team used staff and pregnant women to produce the DVD with real scenarios to enable discussion and understanding. The DVD addresses scenarios such as supporting a deaf woman to use the pool; risk assessing a woman with restricted mobility; managing shoulder dystocia; evacuation of a collapsed woman and; back care for midwives. <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">HIGHLY COMMENDED </div> <img style="WIDTH: 517px; HEIGHT: 345px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct59.jpg&type=image" width="517" height="345" wfxsrc="nct59.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /> Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust – St Mary’s Birth Centre with Dr David Foster The Centre opened in June 2008 and was built in response to current Government policy to provide an alternative place of birth for women with straightforward pregnancies. In 9 months it has achieved all its aims and increased normality in childbirth. Midwives involved user representatives in the interview process to staff the unit and midwives had to present a portfolio of work to ensure that they were enthusiastic and committed. The Centre was very carefully designed to create a home-like space with privacy and comfort for women and their families with double beds for the woman and their partner. <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">Responsive, woman-centered, family-focused, post-natal care award </div>WINNER<img style="WIDTH: 470px; HEIGHT: 313px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct63.jpg&type=image" width="470" height="313" wfxsrc="nct63.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing of the University College London Hospitals NHS Trust </div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div> This was a transitional care unit which subsequently developed into a postnatal ward. In this unit, skilled and experienced staff are able to provide special care for babies and their mothers in a postnatal care environment without separating mother and baby. They also optimise breastfeeding for special care babies and carry out multidisciplinary team working and learning, with appropriate use of in-patient resources. The service cares for 10-12 mothers and babies each day. These babies would otherwise have required prolonged admission to the neonatal unit and separation from mother due to their need for special care such as tube feeding or intravenous antibiotics. Such separation adversely effects postnatal emotional adjustment and the successful establishment of breastfeeding. Currently their breastfeeding rate in this population is greater than 90%. <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">WINNER </div><img style="WIDTH: 532px; HEIGHT: 355px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct10.jpg&type=image" width="532" height="355" wfxsrc="nct10.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust – Maternity Unit with Dr David Foster and local MP, Rob Wilson MP </div> The service forms part of on-going study to revise in-patient services to enhance women’s experiences of postnatal care, be responsive to their needs and better prepare parents for transfer home from hospital. They have developed ‘postnatal notes’, with user involvement, which include a health assessment checklist and prompts for women and midwives which can inform individual care planning. They also provide daily postnatal group teaching sessions led by maternity support workers and have re-written postnatal information leaflets. They are currently arranging printing in Polish and Urdu, the most common non English languages within the local population. In the first 6 weeks of implementing the teaching sessions on baby care, a third of mothers/mothers and their partners attended the daily sessions (200). A re-audit of postnatal records showed promising results for breastfeeding support. For those mothers who had initiated breastfeeding within 48 hours the hospital to home rate was originally 57%. The audit showed an increase to 93%. This service shows excellent results from their practical and focused care. <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Tailoring services to meet the needs of fathers award WINNER</div><img style="WIDTH: 508px; HEIGHT: 338px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct65.jpg&type=image" width="508" height="338" wfxsrc="nct65.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">University Hospital North Staffordshire- Midwife Birth Centre </div> This service provides antenatal relaxation classes for mothers and birth partners. The classes focus on breathing and relaxation techniques which will be supportive in the latent and active phase of labour. This gives the couple confidence in their ability during labour and birth. They work to involve the birth partner in the pre labour and labour process; to educate couples about the latent phase (its physiology) and how to manage this; to support the couple in finding a safe space to birth; to encourage the birth partner to make a CD of music that helps the woman to relax; and to reduce latent phase admissions in order to able midwives to provide 1:1 care in the active phase of labour. This service is a great example of good quality antenatal education and they have demonstrated a 40% reduction in false admissions in the group of women who attended the classes; 21% of women attending the class had Pethidine compared to 80% who did not attend the classes; and fathers provided positive evaluation. <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">WINNER </div> <img style="WIDTH: 511px; HEIGHT: 340px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct61.jpg&type=image" width="511" height="340" wfxsrc="nct61.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Royal West Sussex NHS Trust - St Richards Hospital </div> Since September 2008, the unit welcomes fathers and partners to stay overnight on the ward if they wish to do so. Originally trialed as a pilot, it has proven so popular with the women and partners who stay, that it is now permanently on offer. With this facility available the unit is able to respond to the needs of women who gave birth either at night or in the early hours of the morning and want the support of their partners during the night. It also provides an extended opportunity for fathers/partners to bond with their babies during the night time period as well as allows partners to participate in the caring of their loved ones at any time of the night or day. This service also reduces anxiety for women and their partners who may wish to be admitted to hospital in the latent phase of labour, but not needing to be admitted to the labour ward. <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Involvement of women in improving local maternity services award WINNER </div> <img style="WIDTH: 496px; HEIGHT: 330px" border="0" src="https://websitebuilder.1and1.co.uk/xml/wfxdirect/res;jsessionid=A43FCBB50EBDB464810D815061A7F055.TC110b?name=nct30.jpg&type=image" width="496" height="330" wfxsrc="nct30.jpg" wfxtype="resource" /> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust - Queen Charlotte’s and St Mary’s, Paddington with Emily Thornberry MP and local MP, Andy Slaughter MP </div> In a great example of true partnership, hospital staff and service users worked together in 2008 to create ‘The Caring Dimension’, a DVD highlighting real women’s experiences of maternity care at the Trust, both positive and negative. The DVD is now being used extensively in a programme of multidisciplinary training to promote dignity and choice in maternity care. The Women’s & Children’s Clinical Programme Group is now launching a Values and Behaviours Project using the DVD as the principal training resource, through a series of regular facilitated workshops among the whole multi-disciplinary staff body of almost 1200 individuals. This will take the message to the widest possible group of staff, not just those who work clinically, demonstrating to them the positive impact of dignity and respect in care. The DVD was launched at the beginning of 2009, and has the potential to make a difference to the care of any or all of the 8000+ women that use their Maternity service this year.