Maternity training project at NNUH receives national praise

Training and teaching methods used within the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital’s maternity department will be shared as best practice as part of a national campaign to improve safety.

Earlier this year, a team from the maternity department at NNUH were awarded almost £80,000 by the Department for Health to provide enhanced staff training in ‘human factors.’ Training in human factors focusses on optimising performance through better understanding the behaviour of individuals, their interactions with each other and with their environment. For staff at the hospital, this has meant taking part in structured teaching sessions and real-life simulations on the labour ward.

As part of the project, the Trust have also employed two Safety Improvement Fellows, one midwife and one doctor, to lead the delivery of training and build on the strong safety culture of the department.

Dr Sophia Ansari, Clinical Simulation Fellow at NNUH, said: “Over the course of the project we have been using a combination of classroom based teaching as well as advanced simulation techniques. This has enabled our teams to develop advanced team working, communication and decision-making skills, all of which help to make patient experience on our labour ward even better.”

Dr Ed Prosser-Snelling is a Specialist Registrar at NNUH and project lead. He said: “We have used the funding from the Secretary of State’s Maternity Safety Training Fund to launch this programme of team working improvement at NNUH. It’s great that our work has been recognised in this way.”

Close links with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) have meant that the innovative practices at NNUH have been nationally recognised and earlier this year RCOG approached NNUH to commission a video and training package which could be rolled out in maternity units across the country.

The video explores the concept of effective team working within the clinical setting and provides advice on how to maintain this in different situations on the labour ward. This video is part of a wider implementation package by RCOG to support maternity units to improve and maintain team work on the labour ward, for a safer birth for mum and baby.

The launch of the training video also runs in parallel with RCOG’s national quality improvement programme Each Baby Counts, which aims to reduce the number of babies who die or suffer complications during labour.

Mr Edward Morris, NNUH Consultant Gynaecologist and Vice President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) said: “I’m delighted that the fantastic work of the maternity team has been nationally recognised by RCOG as an example of excellence in training. This project has helped to develop our staff and has enhanced the great environment on the ward for women in labour; thanks to all those involved.”

Mr Richard Smith, Chief of Service for Maternity, said: “At NNUH we are proud to be at the forefront of advancements in clinical techniques and treatments; the training programme which has been delivered within our maternity teams is a fantastic example of this. Our next steps will be to realise the translatable benefits that these techniques will have for other teams and patients across the hospital.”