Workforce and Training
These targets are around ensuring that trusts have the appropriate levels of staffing and effective plans in place to ensure they have the right skills mix across the maternity and neonatal services.
Safe staffing
OBJECTIVE
All providers complete midwifery staffing assessment in line with NICE guidance and this assessment is updated and reviewed at board level every six months.
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
All 8 trusts in the North East and North Cumbria have completed a recent assessment of their midwifery staffing and presented this to their Executive Boards. These midwifery staffing assessments show that like the rest of England, we have a number of midwifery posts vacant.
Individual trusts are working really hard to recruit additional midwifery staff. The LMNS is working with regional colleagues, Health Education England and local universities to find innovative was to recruit more staff to fill the vacancies in our trusts.
OBJECTIVE
All providers to provide a workforce plan to ensure their achieve and maintain maternity staffing levels.
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
All 8 providers have a workforce plan in place that has been submitted and reviewed by their trust board and this will continue to be reviewed on a six-monthly basis.
OBJECTIVE
All services to assess their obstetric staffing levels to ensure they meet Ockenden recommendations.
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
We are waiting to receive a copy of the nationally developed obstetric staffing workforce tool.
Once providers receive this tool, they will complete a review of obstetric staffing levels and the results will be sent to the LMNS for review.
OBJECTIVE
All providers to develop a plan which is approved by the LMNS by December 2022 to upskill and support maternity support workers.
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
This work is in development and individual trust plans will be submitted to the LMNS later in 2022.
OBJECTIVE
Ensuring that all maternity staff receive multi-disciplinary training in line with the NHS England Core Competency Framework and that funding for this training is being used for that purpose.
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
All 8 trusts in the North East and North Cumbria have confirmed that they have ring fenced the money they received for maternity staff to access multi-disciplinary training.
Each trust has annual training programme for maternity staff and report their training figures to the LMNS on a quarterly basis.
Culture
Objective
To repeat the culture survey and debriefing process as part of the maternity and neonatal safety improvement programme (MatNeoSIP) and use the insights to inform local plans by March 2023.
Where are we now?
The national maternity transformation team have developed a Perinatal Culture and Leadership programme. To enable learning across region as sites and within teams, each in take of the programme will have a range of organisations with different demographics taking part.
County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust is part of cohort 1 which started in November 2022. South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust and North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation are both part of cohort 2 which begins in March 2023.
All other trusts are required to complete the programme by October 2023.
Leadership development
OBJECTIVE
For senior maternity and neonatal leaders to participate in NHS Leadership Academy training.
Where are we now?
The national maternity transformation team have developed a Perinatal Culture and Leadership programme. To enable learning across region as sites and within teams, each in take of the programme will have a range of organisations with different demographics taking part.
County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust is part of cohort 1 which started in November 2022. South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust and North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation are both part of cohort 2 which begins in March 2023.
All other trusts are required to complete the programme by October 2023.