Each Baby Counts: Learn and Support' receives £1.7 million to improve maternity care

on 30 November 2018 Maternity Services

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) are launching a new programme to enable local maternity teams to roll out national recommendations to improve the care of mothers and babies.

‘Each Baby Counts: Learn and Support’ is a three-year partnership between the RCOG and RCM, supported and funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, that will work with a number of local maternity units to support multi-professional learning and clinical leadership, improve joint working and drive innovation from within the NHS.

‘Each Baby Counts Learn & Support’ will build on the learning from previous collaborative initiatives to improve maternity safety, such as the Labour Ward Leaders and Each Baby Counts programmes.

The latest report from the Each Baby Counts clinical improvement programme, published on Tuesday 13 November, shows that multiple contributory factors were behind poor outcomes in care for mothers and babies. The Each Baby Counts Learn & Support programme is the next step in learning for maternity care and will take forward recommendations to support making the UK the safest place to give birth.

Gill Walton, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives, said:
 
“The RCM is pleased to be part of this exciting new programme. I believe that together we can build on the trust and buy-in we already have from frontline clinical staff for initiatives by providing them with the support they need to translate lessons learned into improvements in everyday care.”

Professor Lesley Regan, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, added:
 
“I am delighted to announce this innovative programme which will empower healthcare staff on the frontline to learn locally, and place women, their babies and families at the heart of improvements. We will continue to build on the progress we have made in understanding where maternity services need to improve.”

Minister for Health, Jackie Doyle-Price, commented:
 
“We want to make the NHS one of the safest places in the world to give birth by halving rates of stillbirths, neonatal deaths and brain injuries by 2025. We have already made excellent progress on this ambition but there is more to do, so I am delighted the Department can fund this vital work that will support learning and improve best practice in maternity care right across the NHS.”