Maternity services at UHSussex have always remained within the expected range for perinatal mortality. However, over the past few years, these rates have significantly improved thanks to a number of targeted improvements.
We want to ensure the best possible care for you and your baby during your pregnancy.
Our midwifery and obstetric teams have been working with the Maternity Safety Support Programme (MSSP) over the last few years and created a Maternity Improvement Plan focused on several workstreams. These include:
- Governance
- Leadership and Culture
- Education and training
- Recruitment and retention
- Saving Babies Lives – care bundle v3
- Screening
- Estate and environment
- Infant feeding
- Ockenden and East Kent recommendation compliance
We also have a service user experience workstream, working in partnership with the local Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP) to continue listening and responding to service user voices.
Progress
Through this work, we have:
- Reduced midwifery vacancy rate from 22% to less than 5%
- Invested in 40 new midwife posts across the service
- Completed our Clinical Operating Model (COM) consultation and recruitment
- Increased the number of medical and midwifery leadership posts
- Formally approved a new maternity governance framework
- Implemented 97% of the national recommendations made by the Ockenden reports
- Worked with the MNVP to develop our communications with women and people and co-produce a number of service developments, including supporters staying overnight and a postnatal discharge information video.
For both 2023 and 2024, we have achieved NHS Resolution’s full incentive awarded to Trusts that deliver a comprehensive range of safety and quality measures.
Maternity services at UHSussex have always remained within the expected range for perinatal mortality rates (stillbirths and newborn deaths combined), as reported by the MBRRACE-UK Perinatal Mortality Data Viewer). However, over the past few years, these rates have significantly improved thanks to a number of targeted improvements.
Taking part in maternity research
Research involving the birthing population is flourishing at all four hospital sites at UHSussex. Our aim is to offer maternity service users the opportunity to participate in cutting edge studies that could drive progress in effective care, treatment or medication management.
Read more about the research taking place within maternity