WIREDGOV

A project to improve maternity and neonatal services in the North West Coast has potentially saved up to 102 lives.

The optimisation pathway has also potentially prevented 22 babies from developing cerebral palsy, according to new research, while 41 babies were prevented from developing group B strep.

Health Innovation North West Coast’s Maternity and Neonatal Safety Improvement Programme (MatNeoSip) team has been supporting maternity and neonatal teams in our region to implement the optimisation care bundle.

The team has been working with the North West Neonatal Operational Delivery Network to promote the adoption of the measures that aim to improve outcomes for pre-term babies and their mothers.

The focus has been on sharing expertise, knowledge and experience and providing opportunities to network during virtual special interest groups and an in-person event.

There is strong evidence that babies who receive all the measures have better outcomes, and the MatNeoSip team is part of a national programme to reduce variation in those outcomes. The figures are supplied by the national programme team and date back to April 2020.

Dr Alex Cleator, Consultant Neonatologist at Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust, recently said:

“We have worked closely with Health Innovation North West Coast to deliver our local and regional preterm optimisation work. They have been instrumental in helping us access a wealth of optimisation resources and troubleshoot our local issues.

“They have pointed us in the direction of team members across the region who have experienced similar issues and work relentlessly to help share experiences and successes.

“They are always contactable for advice and are quick to respond with helpful information and contacts. The team brought the region together last year at a regional optimisation event at Liverpool Women's Hospital that was incredibly well received.

“The feedback from this event is testament to their hard work and dedication and another event is planned for later this year. Regular engagement with the team at Health Innovation North West Coast is crucial to see sustained improvement in local preterm optimisation data.”

The figures have been supplied by the National Patient Safety Improvement Programmes Maternity and Neonatal team.

You can read more about the team’s work to promote the care bundle here. And you can read Programme Manager Amanda Andrews’ blog about the impact of the project.