25 November 2009 WHHT Maternity Services - Overview & Scrutiny Committee Overview & Scrutiny Committee Maternity Services Review Margaret Cronin Head of Midwifery & Gynaecology Services

Overview of services Deliver women/annum Provide a full range of antenatal, labour and postnatal care, both midwifery led and obstetric Mainly from surrounding areas of – Watford – Hemel Hempstead – St 31% Border areas – provide targeted services 2500 women – Barnet & Enfield- Luton & Dunstable – East & North Herts- Stoke

Antenatal Continuity of Care(r) & Choice Three community teams – Hertfordshire – Watford, Hemel Hempstead & St Albans – 75 GP practice locations – continuity of care model – 1 Children’s Centre running South Oxhey – 1 Children’s Centre to start Hillside – Week day & Weekend clinics in hospital bases One hospital based team – out of area women choosing to deliver their babies with us Developments in 2008-date – Early access: Speed booking – Parent education – VBAC clinics

Information & Choice Mandatory multidisciplinary staff training – Evidence based practice – NICE, Confidential Enquiries etc Risk Assessments (RA) – At booking & reviews throughout Options – Screening – Health Promotion advice – Explored based on RA’s: plans of care made & revised Options for place of birth – Homebirth – Alexander Birth Centre (Alongside Birth Centre) – Delivery Suite (Obstetric-Led Unit)

Labour Continuity of Care & Choice Care provided women – Homebirth – West Hertfordshire women only 3.89% Community midwifery teams – Alexander Birth Centre 22.11% ABC team Low risk women booked with WHHT – Delivery Suite74% Delivery Suite team Women requesting epidural analgesia or where intervention required, booked with WHHT Delivery Statistics Vaginal Delivery 60.5% Caesarean Section 25.9% Instrumental Delivery 13.6% Perinatal Mortality rates: 0.9 /1000 live births (EoE: 1.7 UK: 2.0)

Postnatal Continuity of Care & Choice Hospital based services (Postnatal ward team) – Midwives, Nursery Nurses, Maternity Care Assistants: Paediatricians & Obstetricians – Average Length of Stay (LoS) ND without complications <12 hours (ABC) ND with complication or instrumental 1 day Instrumental with upto 2-3 days Caesarean 3 days Community Midwifery teams – Provide care West Hertfordshire women 3.4 visits/ woman – 2500 additional imports – ie women gave birth in another maternity unit, but live in WHHT community area Neonatal Screening

Pathways: 69% of women booked at WHHT 1. Access & referral  See GP/mw in surgery, +/- discuss options on which maternity service to refer to referral to maternity services made (WHHT) 2. Booking  With midwife – location GP practice, hospital base, home (few)  Risk Assessment  Health Promotional advice  Screening options  Provisional plan of care

Pathways cont… 3. Follow up appointments  With midwife/GP – low risk women – RA each visit & revision of plan of care  Screening – eg scans, blood tests, MRSA  In conjunction with obstetric or other teams if high risks develop 4. Parent education  Consistent evidenced based information: Offered to all women booked with WHHT 5. Labour  In appropriate care setting and in accordance with women’s informed choice 6. Postnatal care

Pathways: 31% of women using WHHT services Applies to women using some aspect of antenatal or postnatal care but booked at an alternative maternity unit for delivery of their babies. Affects community aspects of WHHT maternity service provision Variations in services offered and lines of communications between maternity services. – Potential risks mostly mitigated against by having well established community midwives in local communities, familiar with nuances of services.

Cross Border issues 1. Changing and varying policies in maternity services:  Combined screening  Access to parent education  Hepatitis immunisation 2. Use of maternity service specific documentation & reconciliation of records 3. Referral processes not always well articulated  Eg access to mental health services, HV teams etc  Relies on midwives local knowledge

Cross Border issues cont… 4. Access to results  Some midwives have to phone one or a number of contacts, others have net access at GP practices. Others have the results filed in hand held record 5. Access for women to parent education  An issue for women living in Tring area and choosing to deliver at Stoke 6. Notification in service changes  Networks well established in EoE area and with Barnet & Chase  Networks not so well established with other regions

Health promotion Infant feeding – Breast feeding coordinator post – N Nurses Hosp & Com Report rates Q2: Intended Actual Breast feeding alone83.91%71.02% Breast & Mix feeding85.75%84.23% Artificial feeding alone14.25%15.77% Smoking cessation – Screening at booking & referral to cessation programme Smoking at: Booking 16.% Delivery 11.% Discharge 7% Obesity – Revision of policy in accordance with NICE - Improved RA Report rates Q2:BMI = 9.42% BMI 35+ = 5.45%

Service Developments Maternity Matters Action Plan – Midwifery staffing – Services specification – reconfigure community midwifery services – project plan start in January 2010 – Vulnerable adults and mental health pathways – Infant feeding Combined screening