To read any of the previous 20 MTP Bulletins please use this index link

---

100th MTP Bulletin

This is the hundredth edition of the Maternity Transformation Programme Bulletin and the team would like to mark the occasion by saying a huge, heartfelt thank you to everyone who is working to improve and transform maternity services. These are challenging times but we know there is brilliant work going on in Trusts, LMNSs and Regions across the country.

---

 Reducing the burden of reporting and releasing capacity to manage the COVID-19 pandemic

On 24th December, a letter was sent to all Trusts providing guidance on measures to reduce the burden of reporting in order to free up time and resources to meet the continued challenge presented by COVID-19.
For maternity service providers this means: 'Systems should ensure that maternity services can operate safely in the pandemic context and continue to implement initiatives which support this, such as Saving Babies’ Lives and the seven Immediate and Essential Actions from the Ockenden report.'
And NHSE&I will 'work with local maternity systems to prioritise delivery of commitments that free up capacity and slow or stop those that do not, in a way that will help them to maintain safe services. This will include reviewing planning milestones, such as submission of plans to roll out continuity of carer and improve equity'.
The full letter can be read here:
C1518-reducing-the-burden-of-reporting-and-releasing-capacity-to-manage-the-covid-19-pandemic.pdf (england.nhs.uk)
 

---

 2022/23 priorities and operational planning guidance

New guidance has been produced setting out the priorities for the health service over the next two years. It is recognised that the ability to fully realise the plans is linked to the ongoing level of healthcare demand from COVID-19. The new Omicron variant reminds us that we will need to remain ready to rise to new vaccination challenges and significant increases in COVID-19 cases.
We are not able to predict the timing or impact of new variants and must develop ambitious plans for what we can achieve for patients and local populations in a more favourable context. The objectives for 2022/23 set out in the document are therefore based on COVID-19 returning to a low level. We will keep these objectives under review as the pandemic evolves. 
For perinatal services, the focus continues to be on delivering a range of transformation objectives to make maternity and neonatal care safer, more personalised and more equitable.
In addition, LMSs are asked to support providers to prioritise reopening any services suspended due to the pandemic, ensuring women can take somebody with them to all maternity appointments and supporting work to increase vaccination against COVID-19 in pregnancy.
The full guidance can be found here: B1160-2022-23-priorities-and-operational-planning-guidance.pdf (england.nhs.uk) 

---

 CNST Safety Action 2 – Submitting Data to the Maternity Services Dataset (MSDS)
 
A letter was circulated to Trusts from NHS Resolution in December notifying of a minimum 3 month pause in the Maternity Incentive Scheme (CNST), due to the impact of the Omicron variant on front-line services.
This is being kept under review by NHS Resolution.
In relation to Safety Action 2, this means that Trusts will no longer be assessed on their MSDS data in January. However, Trusts should continue to make every reasonable effort to make a submission to MSDS and to apply the principles of the 10 Safety Actions.
Revised guidance on the scheme will be published later in the year, once the situation has been reviewed.

---

 Best Practice in Midwifery Recruitment and Retention

If you’re involved in recruiting to the NHS maternity workforce, take a look at the best practice case studies here on FutureNHS to see how NHS organisations are supporting newly qualified midwives, reducing attrition and providing enhanced pastoral support.
They include Surrey and Sussex Health NHS Trust’s work to help newly qualified midwives feel part of the team when face-to-face training and team-building had moved online. And West Yorkshire and Harrogate Local Maternity System’s move to centralised recruitment for six organisations.
If your NHS organisation is doing great work in maternity recruitment please share it at NHSI.Workforce@nhs.net

---

  HSIB Investigation Science Education Courses

The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) have launched a range of Investigation Science Education courses for those working within maternity services. 
There are a number of courses that might be of interest but a good starting point for some may be  ‘Investigation Science for strategic decision makers and senior leaders in healthcare’. The courses are free of charge but there may be a limit on the number of places available.
A link to the courses can be found here: Investigation science education courses | HSIB
If you have any questions regarding the courses, you can email: investigationeducation@hsib.org.uk

---

Tommy's and Sands Maternity Care Survey

Tommy’s and Sands are working as part of a Maternity Consortium to reduce health inequalities in maternity and have launched a survey to understand pregnant women and birthing people’s experiences of accessing maternity services and any barriers they may have faced in getting the care they’re entitled to.
Please complete the survey if you’re currently pregnant or have been pregnant since January 2019 or if you’re a healthcare professional/someone who has direct contact with pregnant women and birthing people and can fill this survey out with them.

---

  Dates for your diary:

£7.6 million Starting Well Fund Learning Event
13th Jan 09.00 - 13.30
This is the first Starting Well Fund Learning Event and includes 6 voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations presenting on their work and learning to date. LMS and Regional colleagues are invited to attend to facilitate networking and share learning.
Those presenting are:

1. First Words Together, Birmingham: Providing a parental engagement programme to support the earlier identification of children who need language support before the age of 2 through building knowledge and confidence in early years’ practitioners and developing skills and confidence of parents/carers so they support their child’s speech, language and communication. 
2. Hestia & Happy Baby Community, Croydon: Providing perinatal support to highly disadvantaged pregnant women who have suffered multiple traumas, survivors of trafficking and asylum seekers through tailoring intensive support from trained perinatal peer support volunteers and doulas.
3. Flying Start, Luton: Expanding the ‘Flying Start’ antenatal and post-natal support to BAME communities and those families living in areas of highest deprivation. 
4. PSS Growing Together and Everton in the Community, Liverpool: Providing early intervention therapeutic service to strengthen bonds and interdependencies within families and expanding to support families who live complex lives, targeted at fathers.
5. Koala North West, Wirral: Targeting Wirral’s five most deprived wards and providing tailored practical and emotional support that improves wellbeing, reduces isolation and supports children and caregivers to thrive through Breastfeeding Peer Support and Perinatal volunteers. 
6. Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire Mind, Peterborough: Focusing on coproducing the current perinatal mental health service, support groups and courses with Muslim women, improving relevancy and cultural appeal to Muslim women and including faith-based content, culturally sensitive language and with peer facilitators from the Muslim community.

 Please email startingwell@dhsc.gov.uk to request the event login details

---

NHS Shine A Light on Coproduction Webinars
18th Jan and 15th Mar 13:00 -14:30

These webinars aim to show what can be achieved when we work together in coproduction with people with lived experience. They will include a presentation from the national Maternity and Neonatal Service User Voice Reps
To book your place, please click one of the links below:

18th January 2022 Booking Link 
15th March 2022 Booking Link

We are always looking for successful coproduction stories - if you wish to present please get in touch at england.eoccoproduction@nhs.net.

---

Health Chat with Professor Lucy Chappell
11th Jan 17:00 - 18:30

Professor Lucy Chappell is the Department of Health & Social Care's Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor of Obstetrics and Honorary Consultant Obstetrician at Guy's & St Thomas'. She has also taken a leading role in research to develop testing for pre-eclampsia..
Aside from the Covid pandemic there are huge capacity v demand service constraints, workforce issues and galloping technology progress.
As the Chief Scientific Advisor, she will discuss priorities and challenges that need to be addressed.
More information and links to register are here - the talk is a virtual event free to the Institute of Health and Social Care Management. members and £12 for non members. 

---

Aide Memoire – Links to Online Resources 
 

	National Maternity Dashboard  Regional Maternity Dashboard	Link  Link
	RCOG – Landing Page for all Infection and Pregnancy Guidance	Link
	RCM - Landing Page for all Covid-19 Guidance	Link
	SBLCBv2: Covid-19 Information	Link
	Revised Guidance PPE – from PHE	Link
	HEE - Landing Page for Covid-19 training programme for health and care workforce	Link
	NICE - Landing Page for all Covid-19 guidance and resources	Link
	NHS Resolution – Covid-19 related guidance: including Early Notification and Maternity Incentive Scheme	Link

---

 Sign up to receive the MTP Bulletin
Please feel free to forward this Bulletin on to anyone for whom it may be of interest. 
If the email was forwarded to you and you would like to sign up to receive future editions of the Bulletin, please click here: http://eepurl.com/gnUAd9