Better Births one year on event

Personal and safe care for all women before, during and after they give birth.One year ago, Better Births set out a clear vision: for maternity services to become safer, more personalised, kinder, professional and more family friendly.

On 28 March 2017, the Maternity Transformation Programme held an event to mark one year since the publication of Better Births. A wide range of stakeholders attended the event, from local, regional and national organisations, representing many of those who have a part to play in transforming maternity services.

The event showcased the rapid progress made since the publication of Better Births in February 2016, including Early Adopters and Choice and Personalisation Pioneers. The agenda set out the expectations and priorities for the programme and for people in the system over the next 12 months and beyond, and ensured that stakeholders across the maternity sector are clear on the role they can play to help deliver the vision in Better Births.

Specifically, the event was an opportunity to provide practical advice and guidance on the development of Local Maternity System transformation plans, by signposting to the support available at national, regional and Clinical Network level. This included the launch of a comprehensive resource pack to support LMS in implementing Better Births locally.

The day also saw the launch of the new, employer led model of midwifery supervision for England: A-EQUIP (advocating for education and quality improvement), in effect from 1 April. A-EQUIP is a continuous improvement process, built by midwives, for midwives, that aims to build personal and professional resilience, enhance quality of care for women and babies and support preparedness for appraisal and professional revalidation.

A series of workshops were run for participants:

  • LMS Planning and Implementation – Lauren Hughes (Director, Clinical Policy and Operations, NHS England)
  • Implementing the new Midwifery Supervision Model A-EQUIP – Jacqueline Dunkley Bent (Head of Maternity, Children & Young People, NHS England)
  • Safer Maternity Care – Madeleine Percival and Clare Sandling (Deputy Director, Maternity Safety Programme, Department of Health), Michelle Upton (Patient Safety Lead, Maternity and newborn, NHS Improvement) and Birte Harlev-Lam Clinical Director ( Maternity – Maternity and Children NHS Improvement)
  • Maternity Voices Partnership – Lisa Ramsey (Chair, Maternity Service Liaison Committee Forum) and Clare Enston (Insight and Feedback Lead, NHS England)
  • Prevention – Alison Burton (Maternity and Early Years Lead, Public Health England)
  • Developing Digital Maturity – Roger Carter, Programme Manager (Digital Child Health, Maternity, NHS Improvement) Jules Gudgeon, (Midwife NHS Digital), Chris Dickson (Clinical Informatics Specialist, NHS Digital)
  • Continuity of Carer – Cathy Warwick (CEO, Royal College of Midwives) and Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent

Sarah-Jane Marsh, the Chair of the Maternity Transformation Programme Board, has written a blog at this key milestone. She outlines her thoughts on where the programme is up to so far, and where it needs to go next to deliver the vision of Better Births.