Thank you to our maternity service users for your feedback

Earlier today (Monday 18 November), Somerset Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP) published its 15 Steps report that provides feedback from service users on the environment within our maternity units at both Musgrove Park and Yeovil hospitals.

Background information

“The 15 Steps Challenge” is a suite of toolkits that explore different healthcare settings through the eyes of patients and relatives. The 15 Steps template is an NHS England toolkit that looks at improving the quality of services by bringing in ‘fresh eyes’ to visit, observe and spot things that colleagues might walk past.

The toolkit was inspired by a comment from a mother who was often in hospital with her child and commented that she could tell what kind of care her daughter would receive within 15 steps of walking onto every new ward. The toolkit was co-designed with a diverse group of representatives and service users, who advised on what should be assessed during 15 Steps visits.

The toolkit enables 15 Steps visitors to observe and reflect on whether the settings and the staff are friendly, welcoming, accessible, informative and organised; and whether the services feel safe, personal, kind and calm.

You can read the full report and press release on the Maternity Voices Neonatal partnership website.

Thank you to service users

Sally Bryant, our director of midwifery, says: “I want to say a very big thank you to Somerset Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP) and their service users who have given up their time to visit our maternity units at Musgrove Park Hospital and Yeovil Hospital and give us their feedback on the environments within our units.

“It is incredibly important to hear the voice of mothers, pregnant people and families, and we will incorporate this feedback into our ongoing work to improve our maternity services. This includes positive feedback about areas that are welcoming – and that we may be able to replicate - and feedback about areas that we need to improve.

“These include additional changes to make signage clearer, work to make some environments more accessible, feel less clinical and support privacy, and a need to review posters and information displays to avoid information overload and make information inclusive and accessible to all.

“A lot of the feedback reported relates to the condition and maintenance of our estate. The poor condition of the building in which Musgrove Park Hospital’s maternity unit is housed is a big concern to us. We have been working for a number of years on plans to replace it as part of the New Hospitals Programme and are awaiting the outcome of the national review of the programme.

“Nevertheless, this feedback highlights the importance of ongoing maintenance and replacement of older fixtures and fittings and of making it clear when improvements are being made or are imminent. For example, at the time of the visit, essential maintenance work was being undertaken and the cleaning team was onsite to ensure a speedy response to the works, but our visitors were understandably not aware of this.”

“Once again we thank the Somerset MNVP for their feedback and their willingness and commitment to working with us.”

Further information

• Somerset Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP) is an independent organisation where women, birthing people and families can feedback and share their experiences of maternity and neonatal services in Somerset.
• For more information on our maternity services, please visit the maternity pages on the website.
• If you have any questions, or concerns, would like more information, or to speak to someone about our service, please speak to your midwife.
• You can also share your feedback about maternity or neonatal care in Somerset through the Somerset Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP)