Cambridge Maternity Services Liaison Committee
We care about your care!
Cambridge Maternity Services Liaison Committee
We care about your care!
In Attendance:
Sue Allen-Mills (Chair); Nicola Clapperton; Callie Copeman-Bryant; Angela D’Amore; Kate Evans; Maddie McMahon; Sue Prytherch; Anna Shasha; Heather Sturman; Jo Watt
Apologies were received from: Jan Butler; Cheryl France; Julie Gardiner; Nisrin Marcus; Claire Thompson; Annie West
Approved.
3.10.2 - The MSLC Facebook page now has 34 people who ‘like’ it, and there is evidence that the page is being looked at, but no messages have been posted on it as yet.
3.10.4 - AS has as yet not been able to do a survey of midwives to find out if there are any who are trained in aromatherapy. She is planning to do a scoping exercise to establish whether any midwives have training in complemetary therapies more broadly. Two or three names were mentioned as midwives known to members of the committee who are trained in aromatherapy.
ACTION: AS
4 - AS’s PA is in the process of arranging for AS and SA-M to meet with the Chief Executive of the PCT. NC recommended that Helen Geall, the new Head of Children Young Peoples and Maternity Commissioning should be included in the meeting. AS to pass this on to her PA. NC also recommended meeting with Mandy Renton, but AS already has a meeting arranged.
ACTION: AS
6 - CT has given SA-M information about other fathers groups.
9 - AS has arranged with Emma Te Braake for statistics on normal birth to be included in the monthly unit statistics.
10 - SA-M has obtained figures from Emma Te Braake on the number of first-time mothers who were induced for post-dates whose babies were born by caesarean. The percentage is 35.1%.
AS has contacted the chair of the MSLC at her previous Trust to ask her for a copy of the questionnaire used there, but has not yet received a reply. Once the questionnaire is available, a working group will be set up to prepare a version for use in the Rosie.
SA-M attended the Romsey Mill Young Parents Health Fair last month. It was a good opportunity to talk to young parents about their maternity care experiences, although the environment did not really allow for detailed conversations. The feedback given was overwhelmingly positive. One pregnant young woman particularly praised the care she had received from her midwife, Hannah, in Queen Edith’s. SA-M asked for this to be passed to the midwife.
Two young women reported negative experiences on the DU, saying that they felt intimidated, that the midwife was unsympathetic, and that they were not listened to.
SA-M had re-looked at the DoH guidelines for MSLCs, which refer to MSLCs being encouraged to review their membership and ways of working. Three aspects of this were discussed:
6.1. The guidelines emphasise that MSLCs should be involved in the planning and monitoring of maternity services, and while the committee has been quite active in monitoring care, it has not played any part in planning services. The question was raised about whether this should be happening and if so, how. There was agreement that it should. KE pointed out that developments to services often occurred in response to national directives, and that there was frequently not time for the MSLC to be consulted on these. SA-M suggested that consultation could be carried out by e-mail. Where speed was not an issue, plans could be brought to MSLC meetings.
It was felt that there should be closer involvement between the MSLC and the PCT.
SA-M is aware of two neighbouring MSLCs where this is the case. It was agreed that the work plan for 2011 should be discussed with the PCT.
NC pointed out that commissioning will be changing with the advent of GP commissioning, although it remains unclear whether maternity services will be commissioned by GPs or by the new National Commissioning Board. Discussions within the PCT on GP commissioning are at an early stage.
6.2. The membership of the committee needs to be reviewed, as there are several people on the membership list who have not been to meetings for a long time. SA-M will contact them in the new year to establish what their circumstances are and whether they are willing/able to serve as active members of the committee.
Boo Newns has said that she is having to step down from the committee because she is having difficulties arranging childcare for the meetings. This is not the first time that a user rep has had such a problem. SA-M and MMcM raised the question about whether it was worth trying to revisit the possibility of providing a crèche. This was looked into previously but the barriers proved to be insurmountable. It was felt that there was probably little point in doing this without an indication of sufficient demand, which does not currently exist.
NC pointed out that Hinchingbrooke MSLC holds some of its meetings in the evenings, which might be more convenient for user reps in terms of childcare. It was agreed to trial this for a couple of meetings next year.
6.3 NC has been unable to establish what the existing budget for the MSLC is, but there is agreement in the PCT that the committee can take control of this. NC and SA-M will put together an estimate of what the budget should be, and report back to the next meeting.
SA-M raised the question whether the provision of lunch for meetings was a good use of funds, especially when there is usually quite a bit of food left over. NC will find out what the expenditure on lunch is.
ACTION: NC & SA-M
Items for inclusion on the agendas for the first five meetings of next year (January 11, March 1, April 12, May 24, July 5) were discussed. The following were agreed on:
• Emma Morley to present proposals for changes to health visiting services - January (NC to circulate paperwork on this prior to the meeting).
• JW to provide update on Baby Friendly accreditation/where we are and what needs to be done in 2011 – January
• Home birth service – March
• Reducing the caesarean section rate – meeting to be confirmed with CP
• Update on practice with regard to induction and the management of breech presentation – meeting to be confirmed with CP.
• Maternity services questionnaire
• New build updates
• Commissioning developments – for a meeting later in the year
[With regard to the future organisation of maternity services, SA-M reminded the committee about the SHA conference on Maternity Networks at Chilford Hall on Feb 1.]
Other topics to be worked on:
• repeat of this year’s doula meet and greet session [MMcM and AS]
• follow-up on care provided by paramedics at home births [SA-M]
AS presented the figures for October. There were 522 births. The high rate predicted for November has not materialised as expected, but the prediction for December is still very high (nearly 600 births). There has been a high number of prem babies.
The unit was closed five times in November, for safety reasons.
There were 14 homebirths, with a transfer rate of 11.
The caesarean rate was 28.6%. AS said that steps need to be taken to reduce this.
There were 68 births on the Birth Centre, which had a low closure rate of 0.7%.
The midwife to birth ratio was 1:36.8.
The unit has just undergone CNST assessment, and was awarded Level 2. An NMC visit has also just taken place, and a glowing report was received. A PEAT (Patient Environment Assessment Team) visit has also been carried out, which resulted in a favourable assessment.
A consultation is currently taking place about changing the way community midwifery is organised. The proposal is for midwives to be arranged in eight geographically based teams, each aligned with a children’s centre (as advocated by national guidelines). This will provide each team with a permanent base for meetings, paperwork and equipment, will rationalise travelling and will make communication easier, allowing midwives to work more efficiently and cost effectively. It will also make it easier for women to get in contact with their midwife. The consultation is due to end in the next week, with changes due to be implemented in the new year.
In the recent CQC survey of women’s experiences, 94% of women rated their care at the Rosie as good, very good or excellent.
The land is starting to be cleared, in readiness for building to start in January. It is expected to take 18 months, after which the building will need to be fitted out.
Entrance to the Rosie is now via the ATC.
MMcM reported clients of hers having been given details of their GBS status over the phone by a GP’s receptionist, with misleading information having been given, and no follow-up or counselling offered. KE said that this should be taken up with the GP liaison manager. MMcM will send details to SA-M who will contact the GP liaison manager.
ACTION: MMcM & SA-M
January 11, 12.00 pm – 2.00 pm
Addenbrooke's Treatment Centre, Seminar Room 4
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