Signed up to safety: Maternity services using funding to benefit mothers and babies

Mothers and babies being cared for in the labour wards at Epsom and St Helier hospitals are set to benefit from delivery of four new monitors, thanks to an impressive investment of £254,000.

The funding, which was secured by the maternity team as part of NHS England’s Sign up to Safety campaign, is being used to purchase the additional equipment and support staff training, helping the maternity team to improve normal birth rates and provide extra choice to women in labour.

Marion Louki, Consultant Midwife, explained: “Continuous monitoring during labour is recommended for those mothers-to-be who are at higher risk of experiencing a complication. By constantly monitoring the baby’s ECG (the function of the heart), the new monitors, known as STAN, provide us with extra information about how baby is coping with labour, which helps us to make more informed clinical decisions.

“This extra investment in equipment and staff support will help us to reduce the rate of unnecessary caesarean sections and improve normal birth rates, which contributes to continuing good health of mothers and babies.”

The team are also investing in two wireless telemetry machines which provide continuous monitoring for women who need it, whilst encouraging mobility and water birth. “All of this means we are able to offer women more choice, which we know is incredibly important, without compromising the safety of mother and baby”, said Marion.

Head of Midwifery, Sally Sivas, said: “Patient feedback already shows that people rate our maternity services highly, but we are always looking for ways we can improve even more. We were thrilled when we found out our bid to secure funding from the Sign up to Safety campaign was successful, and are really excited about investing this money in equipment and training that will help make a difference to our patients and staff. We are already seeing improved outcomes with a steady increase in normal births and a reduction in caesarean section rate, which is great news.”