University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust has been recognised for its outstanding contribution to maternity care after being shortlisted for a national award.

As part of NHS England’s ongoing drive to reduce the rates of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, maternal death and neonatal brain injuries, the Trust launched the Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle Version 2 in September 2019.

The successful launch resulted in UHCW’s Maternity Department being named as a finalist for the Changing Culture Award at this year’s Health Service Journal (HSJ) Patient Safety Awards.

Gaynor Armstrong, Group Director of Midwifery at UHCW, said: “We are delighted to have been shortlisted for the award, recognising the collaborative efforts and dedication of our team over the last 12 months.

"This nomination has been a tremendous boost to staff at UHCW and I am sure it will bolster our continued efforts to improve our mission to provide safer care and a better service to all our patients.

"Among other things, it will help to provide safer care, protect babies’ lives and ensure fewer families suffer loss.”

The care bundle is available to all expectant parents, as well as healthcare professionals, and is a central part of a combined mission to reduce perinatal mortality, an issue which is of high importance in the West Midlands.

The Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle was first introduced by NHS England in 2016, and is designed to reduce stillbirth, early neonatal death and hypoxic brain injury in babies.

It brings together five elements of care which can contribute to improvements in poor pregnancy outcomes:

Reducing smoking in pregnancy to improve the chances of having a healthy baby

Checking your baby’s growth and what it means for you

Raising awareness of reduced foetal movement and providing information on how to act to any changes.

Information on effective monitoring of your baby’s heartbeat during labour

Supporting the prevention of preterm birth and treatment if this could happen to you

Professor Nina Morgan, Chief Nursing Officer at UHCW, said: “I am extremely proud of the hard work of our Maternity team in launching this initiative.

“The care bundle provides vital information to expectant parents in understanding the risks and recognising warning signs associated with baby loss, ensuring mothers and their babies are as safe as possible during pregnancy.

“This well-deserved nomination reinforces the Trust’s commitment to patient safety and is a very important step towards meeting the Government’s commitment to halve stillbirths and neonatal baby deaths by 2025.”

As part of the focus on patient safety the team have introduced a bi-weekly Maternity Safety Champion Production Board which attended by the Board Level Safety Champion Nina Morgan and Deputy Chief Medical Officer along with the Maternity Safety Champions Gaynor Armstrong and Stephen Keay.

At the meeting key targets and performance are discussed to ensure that there is a senior overview of the safety improvement being made across the department.

Winners will be selected ahead of the ceremony, which will take place virtually as part of the Patient Safety Virtual Congress and Awards in November 2020.