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Leading Improvement in Health and Care
Ep 4: Maternity
Black Maternity Matters is a ground-breaking collaboration tackling the inequitable maternity outcomes faced by Black mothers and their babies. They’re working to support maternity systems to offer safer, equitable care for all.
In the UK, Black mothers are up to four times more likely to die during pregnancy or in the postnatal period (six weeks after childbirth) than white women. The systemic biases and structural racism behind the figures is an area where improvement has the potential to make real impact.
We talk to three of their improvement leaders:
- Sonah Paton, Founding Director of Black Mothers Matter, collaborative partner on Black Maternity Matters.
- Noshin Menzies, Senior Project Manager, Health Innovation West of England
- Ann Remmers, maternity and neonatal clinical lead, Health Innovation West of England
During this episode guests and hosts use the term ‘racialised as Black’, alongside talking about the experience of Black mothers, parents, and Black children. The use of ‘racialised’ acknowledges that white-centric societies have systemically categorised people according to the colour of their skin, or their culture.
This act of racialising people with healthcare leads directly into these stark differences in experiences of care, treatment, and health. As Esmee Fairburn put it, “‘racialised’ doesn’t define people’s community or identity, but the phenomenon that is happening to them”.
You can find the show notes and references from this episode on our website: https://www.nhsconfed.org/podcast/maternity
For more information on out Learning and Improving Across Systems Peer Learning Programme, please visit: https://www.nhsconfed.org/learning-improving-systems/peer-learning
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6. Ep 6: Productivity
39:20||Season 1, Ep. 6In Episode 6 we explore different system approaches to improving productivity, with two leaders who have been creative and collaborative in working to successfully reduce waiting times. Our guests are: Dr Peter Scolding, Clinical Director of Stewardship for Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board, on recognising frontline leadership and developing a stewardship model for system working. Dr Ruth Gray, Assistant Director of Quality Improvement and Innovation at South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust, Northern Ireland, on using system eco-mapping to improve domiciliary care services. Peter talks about taking inspiration from the work of Nobel prize winner Elinor Ostrom to improve care pathways across Mid and South Essex, creating improved resource sharing and crucial reductions in waiting lists. Ruth shares her story of how her trust released 900 hours of domiciliary care, reducing waiting times significantly. They achieved this through workshops and conversations with stakeholders, staff and patients, that led to the creation of a visual system eco-map, identifying improvement areas for their domiciliary care service. You can find the show notes and references from this episode on our website: https://www.nhsconfed.org/podcast/productivityFor more information on out Learning and Improving Across Systems Peer Learning Programme, please visit: https://www.nhsconfed.org/learning-improving-systems/peer-learning5. Ep 5: Equity
40:28||Season 1, Ep. 5In this episode, we talk to two East London leaders who have been at the forefront of efforts to improve population health, with equity front and centre. Dr Guddi Singh is a paediatric doctor and co-founder of the Wellbeing and Health Action Movement (WHAM) - a powerful project bringing together children’s health professionals to fight poverty in clinical practice. Marie Gabriel CBE is Chair of North East London Integrated Care Board and Chair of the NHS Race and Health Observatory, working to bring anti-racism models into healthcare improvement. Guddi shares her work as a consultant paediatrician in Newham, East London, where she realised there was a big connection between improving services in the most deprived borough of London* and increasing levels of joy and commitment among the staff working there. She found the best way to engage people in quality improvement, was to start by asking what they care about most. Marie explores the importance of learning from patients’ lived experiences to improve services and tackle the structural racism that is embedded within those services. She talks about placing resident participation at the heart of the leadership team, engaging with and listening to local people about priorities for change. You can find the show notes and references from this episode on our website: https://www.nhsconfed.org/podcast/equityFor more information on out Learning and Improving Across Systems Peer Learning Programme, please visit: https://www.nhsconfed.org/learning-improving-systems/peer-learning *According to the Index of Multiple Deprivation.3. Ep 3: Flow
34:56||Season 1, Ep. 3Flow – the way a patient or a service user moves through different stages in the health care system – is vital for good patient care. In this episode we explore how applying the values and methods that are essential to improving flow, can have a powerful impact on how health and care services can work better for both patients and staff. We hear from three great speakers: David Fillingham, chair of the National Improvement Board and chair of Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust is a pioneer when it comes to flow and talks about the importance of improving it. Steve Harrison, Deputy Director of Organisational Development of Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, which has been at the centre of flow improvement, explains what flow means in practice, as well as introducing the Flow Coaching Academy approach. Ailsa Brotherton, Director of Continuous Improvement and Transformation at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, shares her lessons about successfully turning the academy approach into action.You can find the show notes and references from this episode on our website: https://www.nhsconfed.org/podcast/flowFor more information on out Learning and Improving Across Systems Peer Learning Programme, please visit: https://www.nhsconfed.org/learning-improving-systems/peer-learning2. Ep 2: ConfedExpo Live
31:41||Season 1, Ep. 2In this special episode, recorded live at ConfedExpo in June, hosts Penny Pereira (Managing Director of Q at the Health Foundation) and Matthew Taylor (CEO of NHS Confederation) explore how improvement is both a mindset and a method. For it to work well, co-production and the space to reimagine how services work and are organised, are essential. You’ll hear highlights and reflections from Penny and Matthew’s sessions and contributions from an array of guest speakers: Amar Shah, National Clinical Director for Improvement and Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist and Chief Quality Officer at East London NHS Foundation Trust Samantha Allen, Chief Executive, North East and North Cumbria ICB Sarah Sweeney, Director of Membership and Development, National Voices Dr Vin Diwaker, Interim National Director of Transformation, NHS England You can find the show notes and references from this episode on our website: https://www.nhsconfed.org/podcast/nhs-confedexpo-liveFor more information on out Learning and Improving Across Systems Peer Learning Programme, please visit: https://www.nhsconfed.org/learning-improving-systems/peer-learningAnnouncement: Election Pause
00:43|Due to election restrictions, we're taking a very short break - but we'll be back soon.To find out more about our work around the 2024 General Election, head to our websites:Q Community (www.q.health.org.uk)The Health Foundation (www.health.org.uk)NHS Confederation (www.nhsconfed.org)For more information on out Learning and Improving Across Systems Peer Learning Programme, please visit: https://www.nhsconfed.org/learning-improving-systems/peer-learning1. Ep 1: Morale
38:12||Season 1, Ep. 1People are at the heart of improvement. In our first episode, we explore how to improve staff engagement and morale. Director of Patient and Staff Experience at the Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Annie Laverty, talks about using data to understand what matters to staff and enhance engagement. We also hear from John Drew, Director of Staff Engagement and Experience, NHS England who discusses using the NHS staff survey to steer improvement and how we might engage people better on productivity.You can find the show notes and references from this episode on our website: https://www.nhsconfed.org/podcast/unlocking-improvement-through-better-staff-experienceFor more information on out Learning and Improving Across Systems Peer Learning Programme, please visit: https://www.nhsconfed.org/learning-improving-systems/peer-learning