Maternity

Find below information about our Maternity network programme and the Local Maternity System.

Who are we?

  • We are a group of people who are involved with either providing, receiving or commissioning (i.e. buying) maternity care
  • We are clinically led by a senior obstetrician and midwife who are supported by the network team
  • The work of the network is overseen by a maternity steering group, which includes doctors, midwives, patients, commissioners (people who “buy” health services to be supplied to people), public health workers and other people who drive improvements in this area
  • The maternity steering group reports to the Greater Manchester and Eastern Cheshire Maternity Transformation Board
  • Work is delivered alongside the Strategic Clinical Network Perinatal Mental Health Network and with partners from the Local Maternity System (LMS), Patient Safety Collaborative (PSC), North West Neonatal Operational Delivery Network (NWNODN) and Health Innovation Manchester
  • The area we cover is Greater Manchester and Eastern Cheshire.

What are our aims? 

  • Developing a strong, cohesive maternity strategic clinical network team
  • Identifying and enabling a truly engaged and empowered steering group
  • Reducing variation in maternity services across Greater Manchester and Eastern Cheshire
  • Making sure patients, carers, doctors, nurses and families have a voice in designing and developing services
  • Identifying and supporting the implementation of best practice and improved services, as recommended by doctors and nurses
  • Working with our partners to improve safety

How do we do it?

  • Networking and partnership working allows our steering group to identify where improvements can be made
  • Once identified, special interest or task and finish groups are established with designated leads, as well as representation by appropriate disciplines, to develop guidelines through gaining clinical consensus across the network to improve services and reduce variation
  • Lead and/or facilitate working groups which are aligned with delivering the SCN work programme.

Currently, the special interest groups are:

  • Maternity Dashboard for Quality Improvement
  • Stillbirth
  • Saving Babies’ Lives Leads and Midwifery Champions
  • Maternal Medicine
  • Small for Gestational Age/fetal growth restriction
  • Reduced Fetal Movement
  • Induction of labour
  • Premature and preterm rupture of membranes
  • Vaginal birth after Caesarean section
  • Preventative medicine

How can I get involved?

  • The views of the public are very important to us. Our Patients, Carers and Public Involvement Engagement Advisory Group plays an important role in our steering group
  • To contact us to find out more about how to get involved, please email us at england.gmec-scn@nhs.net.