Assessing quality and improving the maternity care environment

Devon Maternity & Neonatal Voices Partnership

Project case study

Assessing quality and improving the maternity care environment

DMNVP regularly visits all four NHS Trusts in Devon with a team of service user volunteers to review maternity services from the perspective of those who use them.

15 Steps Maternity Toolkit

The visiting group uses the NHS England 15 Steps for Maternity Toolkit to explore first impressions of care, the surroundings and the overall experience across the maternity journey, by considering if the environment appears:

Welcoming and informative
Safe and clean
Friendly and personal
Organised and calm

Securing funding for improvements

DMNVP reports the group’s findings to those responsible for maternity and neonatal care, highlighting what service users like and where they see opportunities for improvement.

Royal Devon University Healthcare (RDUH) NHS Trust – Eastern Hospital

In January 2024, DMNVP visited RDUH Eastern Centre for Women’s Health and reviewed:

Antenatal clinic
Triage
Labour ward
Birth centre
Postnatal and Antenatal wards
Transitional care
Neonatal

Areas highlighted for improvement included signage to help people find their way around, refreshing and brightening some of the decor and furnishings, more prominent useful and positive information. Read the specific suggestions for improvement in the RUDH Eastern 15-Steps report.

Securing funding for improvements

In 2021, DMNVP used their 15 Steps visit reports to secure £5,000 from each Devon NHS Trust to improve the environment and experience for maternity service users. They then worked with service users and midwives to decide how to spend the money, including:

Better display information: including new noticeboards and new ways of sharing information, such as the use of QR codes to digitally disseminate information.
Adding finesse to maternity care environments (within the confines of NHS requirements for decorations): with a series of murals in Torbay and different art works across the other Trusts.