1. HSE Home Birth Service
Clinical Professional Seminar & workshop for healthcare professionals

2. John Hennessy, National Director, Primary Care
Opening Remarks
Tuesday 6th December 2016
John Hennessy, National Director, Primary Care

3. Safe Quality Home Birth Services
Women and Families
SECM
HSE
It’s the right thing to do!

4. Opening remarks Homebirth service HSE function
Clinical Governance Group
National Implementation Steering Group
HSE support

5. Homebirth service Demand led service:
2013 – 155
2014 – 167
2015 – 180
Cost of homebirth service is approx €3,585 per birth
Number of infant deaths: ( ) 2 (0.4%)
Suitability assessed by Self Employed Community Midwife and Consultant Obstetrician
Funding:
Self Employed Community Midwife
Second midwife
Clinical governance systems and structures
Professional development
Clinical indemnity
New equipment

6. HSE Functional Structure
Acute Services
Primary Care

7. Service User Safety & Quality
Health Information and Quality Authority
Commitment to the delivery of safe, quality homebirth services
Women and babies
SECMs
HSE
Legislative, ethical and moral duty to demonstrate safety and quality
25+ years of extensive work undertaken on homebirth services by all key stakeholders
3 years of extensive work by the HSE’s Clinical Governance Group and National Implementation Steering Group

8. Looking to the future Promising horizon
Commitment to work in partnership with women and SECMs
Increase uptake of homebirth service
Increase number of midwives expressing interest to work as SECM
Enhanced contract conditions
Establishment of new National Women & Infants Programme in the Acute Services Directorate
Appointment of additional Directors of Midwifery to facilitate good clinical governance in homebirth service

9. SWOT Strengths Cohort of committed SECMs
Cohort of committed Second Midwives
Clinical governance systems and structures
Professionalism & professional development
Evidence base
Funded service
Clinical Indemnity
Communication and sharing
Opportunities
National Maternity Strategy
Establishment of HSE’s National Women’s and Infants Programme
Appointment of Directors of Midwifery
Dawning of a new & enhanced relationship
Weaknesses
Failure to adopt:
Clinical governance systems & Structures
Clinical policies, procedures, guidelines
Monitoring and audit process
Engage professional development
Communicate & share
Threats
UK Homebirth Centres operating in Ireland
Unable to recruit midwives to the homebirth service
Reputational damage

10. Today’s focus
Launch of policies, procedures and guidelines to support SECMs in delivery of safe, quality homebirth service
Pilot of electronic maternity record
Adoption of outputs to support women and to provide assurance
Next phase
April 2017 Clinical Professional Day for SECMs:
Strategy to continued delivery of homebirth services
Monitoring and audit
November 2017 Joint Celebration with involvement of
Women and infants
SECMs
HSE

11. Safe, Quality Home Birth Services
Women and Families
SECM
HSE
It’s the right thing to do!