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NHS Maternity Event - Port Vale FC, 23rd September 2010
[ 23 Sep 2010 ]During September, Now Have your Say members, Mums, Dads, Grandparents and Carers had their say on Maternity Services at a special event held at Port Vale Football Club where they had the opportunity to tell us what they thought of the city’s Maternity Services. The free initiative included informal discussions over tea and coffee; fun activity sessions for babies and toddlers; maternity information and advice; snacks and light refreshments plus a free prize draw to win match-day tickets. The event was highly successful with over 130 people attending. The Programme was split into 3 sessions, which included supervised activities for babies and toddlers including ‘Messy Play’; ‘Soft Play’ and ‘Heuristic Play’, whilst adults were asked specific questions around their experiences of Maternity Services. Some of the key themes from the feedback included: • Mums not offered enough ‘choice’ – we need to better inform women that they have a ‘choice’ of service • Preference would be to see the same midwife – not different ones • Issues around staffing home births, as a consequence, this is not always an option • Significant majority would prefer post natal home visits as opposed to clinic, and by the same midwife • In the main, mums had opportunity to see their birth plan and were involved in it • In the main, no real concerns about ‘quality’ of facilities, but more concerns about getting the care you want i.e. choice. • Rhetoric doesn’t match service provision, staffing issues being a key contributor • Some concerns expressed that service not adapted for ‘high risk’ mums • Majority were not invited to parenting education but many topics suggested, such as Parent Craft post natal period • Majority happy with current choice of service access, quality & safety. • Key concern around ‘letting woman know they have a choice’ i.e. many think they need to go to the doctor and not the case • In the main, most mums felt that the service treated them with dignity & respect. • Majority felt that they had been communicated to in an appropriate manner, but need to use language that is ‘clear’ • Significant majority would value information about getting pregnant. Over the course of the event, we had over 130 parents and carers who attended. From those who completed the event evaluation form, 40% rated the event as ‘excellent overall’ and 60% rated the event as ‘good’ overall.
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