Trust Board Febuary 2010 - Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals

SWBTB (2/10) 045 (a)
• Develop a strategic workforce plan for Women’s Services across the Trust, highlighting
midwifery recruitment and retention, specialist training and on call commitments and the future
working practices of consultants.
• Consider an academic presence in midwifery and/or obstetrics and gynaecology, (separate from
oncology), which might generate a more challenging atmosphere at the work place.
These recommendations supported those made by the Royal College of Obstetricians and
Gynaecologists in May 2008. In relation to service configuration for intra-partum care these were:
‘The Review Team recommends strongly that the Trust consider an interim reconfiguration of
obstetric services prior to the 2010 Project [ now Right Care Right Here Programme ] coming to
fruition, i.e.:
• Expand the delivery suite on the City Hospital site and relocate Sandwell obstetric inpatient
care to City Hospital.
• Establish a modern midwifery-led unit at the City Hospital, co-located to the main
consultant unit.
• Convert the Sandwell Hospital unit to a midwifery-led unit.’
In addition they concluded that,
‘ The advantages of the above moves in driving the workforce together and improving morale cannot
be overestimated. The advantages for women … in terms of both safety and choice cannot be
underestimated.’
Having established the clinical case for change the Project Steering Group identified a number of
potential options for the reconfiguration of maternity services (see below).
3. PLANNED OUTCOMES AND BENEFITS
The Project Steering Group identified and agreed the benefits that a reconfiguration of the Trust’s intrapartum
maternity services should deliver. These are summarised below. The Project Steering Group is
undertaking further work to develop a detailed Benefits Realisation Framework based on these
Table 2. Benefits
Benefit
Promotion of normality in birth
Safe Care
Continuity of care
Better care closer to home
Operational Definition
Promotion of midwifery-led care during labour and birth in a
setting with a home-like ambience for women identified as being
low risk.
All services facilitate normal child birth where possible with
medical interventions recommended only when they are of
benefit to the woman and/or her baby. Immediate, safe transfer
available for any mother or baby who needs to transfer to
consultant care in labour or after delivery and/or Neonatal
Services. Consultant led services have adequate facilities,
expertise, capacity and backup for timely and comprehensive
obstetric emergency care. The level of transfer outside of SWBH
should not increase above current levels
One to one care from a named midwife during labour and birth.
The ratio/level of 1:1 intrapartum care should not decrease.
Availability of midwifery led care in appropriate locations for low
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