Maternity improvement resource

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?