Care for new mothers and babies will be enhanced thanks to a new £71,713 training programme for midwives and doctors at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Increasing the number of Home Births and reducing the rate of caesarean sections are among the hopes for the new programme, which will start later this year.
The Hospital is among 136 NHS Trusts to receive a share of the £8 million Health Education England Maternity Safety Training Fund.
The money will be used to provide courses to support multi-disciplinary team working, leadership and managing obstetric emergencies in the community.
Head of Women’s and Children’s Services Lesley Deacon says the additional training courses are going to enhance maternity care.
She said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this investment in maternity services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
“Our midwives and doctors are already highly trained but this programme is going to further enhance the vast knowledge within the department and support the multi-disciplinary team working.”
HEE Director of Nursing Lisa Bayliss-Pratt said: “The response from service providers and partners in applying to make maternity services safer through education and training has been excellent, as well as the response from training providers to meet demand for course places.
“I am delighted that all NHS maternity trusts have been awarded an allocation from the fund to progress their training and safety improvements, helping to make maternity services safer for mothers and babies, and enhance their care experience.”
Training programmes are due to be completed by March 2018 and HEE will commission an independent evaluation to assess how NHS trusts have improved quality and safety within maternity services and the wider impact for mothers and babies, families, and the maternity workforce.
HEE has committed to ensure that training supports a culture of continuous learning and improvement in safe services, with a focus on reducing the rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternity deaths and other adverse outcomes such as sepsis and intrapartum brain injuries
The Hospital’s Director of Nursing Emma Hardwick is also delighted with the funding.
She said: “We are really pleased to have been selected by Health Education England to receive this funding. Any investment in the development of our staff is always money well spent for both the Trust and our patients.
“At The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, we work together as a team to deliver quality care for our patients through partnership.”
The Hospital offers greater choice for women on low risk pregnancies with its Midwife Led Waterlily Birth Centre and the Midwife Led Pathway, which includes the relaunched Home Birth service.
The team of 43 community midwives supporting the Midwife Led Pathway covers a wide area, including West Norfolk, Fenland, South Lincolnshire and Suffolk.
—ENDS—
Pictured are: Head of Women’s and Children’s Services Lesley Deacon with the maternity team
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