Patient experience maternity

If you are pregnant or new mum, you now have the opportunity to give us feedback on the care you receive.

The Friends and Family Test is an easy-to-understand, comparable question that is asked of pregnant or new mums about the care and treatment they have received. It will be used to drive cultural change and continuous improvements in the quality of the care received by NHS patients. It will enable the views of service users to be heard and provides a platform to shape and deliver better services. 

Women are surveyed at three touch points:

• Antenatal care – to be surveyed at the 36 week antenatal appointment
• Birth and care on the postnatal ward – to be surveyed at discharge from the ward/birth unit/following a home birth
• Postnatal community care – to be surveyed at discharge from the care of the community midwifery team to the care of the health visitor/GP (usually at ten days postnatal)

'How likely are you to recommend our antenatal/birth/postnatal ward/postnatal community care to friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment?'

You will be invited to respond to the question by choosing one of six options, ranging from 'extremely likely' to 'extremely unlikely'.

It is important that you are given the opportunity to explain why you have given your answer, so please answer any follow-up questions.

You may be asked to answer the question before going home, or you may be invited to do so by returning a postcard, by phone or on a website.

It is not mandatory to complete the questionnaire but if you do it will help us improve our services.

If you feel that you should have been given the opportunity to respond but did not receive the question, please contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).

We will then gather the results and analyse them to see if any action is required. An overall score will be published on this page every month.

For more information on Friends and Family Test visit NHS Choices website.

 

Croydon Maternity Voices Partnership (MVP) is a team of local women, men, midwives, doctors, health visitors, commissioners and other care professionals working together to review and contribute to the development and improvement of local maternity care.

We encourage women and their partners to join the MVP and help shape the future of maternity services in Croydon with their ideas, participation and voices. You can be involved in the MVP via our bi-monthly MVP meetings, small break off groups or by gathering information on women’s experiences using our Walk The Patch questionnaire. All of which help us set and achieve goals as an MVP and support women’s expectations.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in exploring, please contact Croydon MVP Chair Beverley Samways or Vice Chair Victoria, to arrange an informal chat. Email us at croydonmvp@gmail.com . We look forward to hearing from you. Croydon Maternity Voices Partnership Meetings in 2020 and 2021, details of which are in this docuement:  Maternity Voices Partnership information sheet June 2021.pdf [pdf] 5MB

Be HEARD, Your Voice Matters... 

We know that across the country, Black, Asian and minority ethnic pregnant women are up to four times more likely to experience poor outcomes during pregnancy, including a higher risk of maternal and neonatal death.   

To tackle these issues and ensure we are providing every mother with the best care possible, Croydon Health Services NHS Trust has launched the HEARD (Health Equity and Racial Disparity) in Maternity campaign.     

We are committed to address and reduce health inequalities and to improve the experience of all of the women and families accessing Croydon Maternity Services.  

We believe that every woman deserves to be treated with compassion and dignity, are committed to providing unbiased, respectful, high quality care to all.  

We pledge to listen and work in partnership with you to ensure that your care is personalised, and that you are provided with all of the information you need to make informed choices about your care throughout pregnancy.  

 Be HEARD, We're Here to Listen 

 

What is the HEARD in Maternity campaign?

We know that across the country, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) pregnant women are up to five times more likely to experience poor outcomes during pregnancy, including a higher risk of maternal and neonatal death.

To tackle these issues and ensure we are providing every mother with the best care possible, Croydon Health Services NHS Trust has launched the  HEARD (Health Equity and Racial Disparity) in Maternity campaign. 

Although the exact reasons for poorer outcomes are not known, this campaign aims to highlight and reduce the impact of some issues that may potentially contribute to increased risk, as well as improve experiences and health outcomes for the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic pregnant women and families who access our maternity services.

What does that mean for me and my baby?

We have put together a recommended care pathway to ensure that you receive the best possible experience during your time with us, and that you feel listened to and HEARD at every step of the journey. This involves:

   

Early folic acid and vitamin D…can help to reduce the risk of problems with a baby’s development in the first few weeks of pregnancy. We recommend taking a multivitamin including vitamin D throughout your pregnancy, and your midwife can provide this for you at your booking appointment and throughout pregnancy.

Booking for care early in pregnancy…enables us to provide you with information about your pregnancy, ensure scan appointments are on time, take important screening bloods from you and refer you to see any specialist services if needed to ensure you receive the best care possible.

Access to interpreting services…is available at every appointment if required. We aim to use face to face interpreters where ever possible, to ensure you understand the care we offer and we can listen to your questions.

Understanding your personalised risk assessment…  All pregnant women are risk assessed and allocating a  Red,  Amber or  Green rating depending of the level of support required. This allows us to take into account your personal circumstances as well as using recognised research to recommend the best care for you. It also helps to identify any additional support that may be of benefit.  

Multi-disciplinary care…BAME women are more susceptible to certain conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. This may mean that you could have slightly more appointments to monitor your health and ensure the best outcomes for you and your baby.

Attending all appointments and scans…is vital to ensuring that you and your baby are well cared for. If attending appointments is difficult for you, or you need to change an appointment please let us know. We are here to help.

Glucose tolerance test for gestational diabetes…will be offered to you at either 16 or 26-28 weeks depending on your circumstances. Gestational diabetes occurs when your body cannot not produce enough insulin, a hormone that helps to control your blood sugar. Gestational diabetes can increase the risks of complication in pregnancy but the risk is reduced with early detection (at 28 weeks) and well managed.

If you have concerns about your pregnancy…

Before 16 weeks pregnant, please see your GP for less urgent concerns or contact the Early Pregnancy Unit triage service for non-emergency medical advice on 020 8401 3310 between 8am – 9am, Monday - Friday.  If you have an urgent or emergency need i.e. if you are having vaginal bleeding, please attend the Emergency Department.

After 16 weeks, please call Maternity Triage 02084013853 - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for all pregnancy related medical concerns. This includes reduced movements, pain, bleeding, if you think that your waters have gone or labour is starting.

For general pregnancy and appointment enquires please call the Community Midwives office  Monday - Sunday between 7:30am – 2:30pm  (please leave a message if out of these hours and someone will call you back). You can also email your community team. The email address will be on the front of your green notes.

How we can support you to be HEARD

Our aim is that all of our staff provide you with respectful and unbiased high quality care, and we are all  here to listen  to any worries or concerns you have.

However, if you feel that you have experienced bias due to your ethnicity, or that you have not been adequately heard, please reach out to our  HEARD in Maternity   advocate  team for further support.

Email:  ch-tr.heard@nhs.net

Alternatively, you can contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) who will be happy to help you.

Telephone 020 8401 3210
or email  CH-TR.PALS@nhs.net