What is workstream?
Publication of the NHS Long Term Plan in January 2019 identifies the challenges currently faced by the NHS around workforce, inequalities, giving people more control over their care, finding a digital solution and ensuring the NHS is cost effective and sustainable. Following the publication in 2016 of the Better Births Review, the secretary of state for Health set out an ambition for maternity and neonatal services to half stillbirths, maternal, neonatal deaths, and brain injury by half by 2025.
The main projects for 23/24 are Maternity Support Worker transformation, Safe staffing, Succession Planning and Retention, Safety Culture and Training and Education.
What are the goals/ key deliverables of the workstream?
In line with Theme 2 of the Single Delivery Plan: Growing, retaining, and supporting our workforce-
- Support Trusts to review their midwifery staffing establishment at board level at least every 6 months as set out in the NICE guideline and share report with LMNS.
- Support Trusts to develop a strategy to support a succession-planning programme for the maternity workforce to develop potential future leaders and senior managers
- Ensure all staff are deployed to roles where they can develop and are empowered to deliver high quality care. Specialist roles within each profession, for example the labour ward coordinator, have a job description, orientation package, appropriate training, and ongoing development.
- Support Trusts to undertake an annual training needs analysis and make training available to all staff in line with the core competency framework V2. Ensure all staff have regular training to maintain and develop their skills in line with their roles, career aspirations, and national standards. Training is multi-disciplinary wherever practical to optimise teamworking.
- Ensure that all providers engage and participate in part two of the NHS Perinatal Leadership and Culture programme as a minimum during 2023. Provide opportunities for leaders to come together across organisational boundaries to learn from and support each other regarding Safety Culture in our units.
- Implement a training programme to upskill Maternity Support Workers (MSWs) in line with HEE’s Competency, Education and Career Development Framework and ensure that those who meet the Framework are coded in ESR as MSWs. (Currently on hold awaiting release of updated framework).
What is the evidence/ key documents used within the workstream?
What successes has the workstream had?
- Development of a Safe Staffing Highlight Report which is brought to LMNS board quarterly by Trusts to review staffing levels.
- Pilot site for implementation of the National Core Competency Framework V2 for maternity mandatory training.
- Trust Multi-disciplinary Training validated through the LMNS quarterly with action plans to improve compliance.
- Implementation of a systemwide Conflict of Clinical Opinion Guideline.
- Facilitation of a systemwide Perinatal Culture Workshop.
- Funding for Active Bystander Training across the system.
- QEH and JPUH MSW’s provided opportunities to commence a Level 3 maternity specific apprenticeship with Dynamic.
- Lead Band 4 MSW’s implemented at JPUH and QEH.
- Working with the NHSE Team on the B7 Labour Ward Coordinator Education module and creating a systemwide B7 Coordinator Job Description which is being used as a case study nationally.
- LMNS bi-monthly Local Learning Events across the system, as well as Buddy LLE’s with our partner LMNS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough.