Women, their families and staff from Brighton and Sussex University Hospital (BSUH) joined forces at a special workshop recently to shape maternity services at the trust.
The event centred around an engaging board game called ‘Whose Shoes’. This encourages everyone to walk in other people shoes and understand the service users, carers and staff experience.
Baroness Julia Cumberlege pays “Whose Shoes” from Maternity
The workshop welcomed maternity service users, BSUH chief nurse Nicola Ranger, Baroness Julia Cumberlege, the creator of ‘Whose Shoes’ Gill Phillips and obstetrician Florence Wilcock. They were joined by midwives, obstetricians, neonatal experts and staff across the trust connected to maternity services.
Held at The American Express Community Stadium in Falmer, the event also included a celebration of International Women’s Day with a gallery of inspirational women through the ages.
Katie Eaves and Jane Cleary, midwives in the maternity education team at BSUH, organised the event with the Maternity Voices Partnership for Brighton and Mid-Sussex and the Professional Midwifery Advocates for BSUH.
Katie said:
“The aim of day was to hear the voices of woman and their families plus the game was a great way to generate ideas and start conversations.”
Some of the topics discussed included developing working relationships within maternity, continuity of care and women centred care.
A graphic artist then brought the key themes to life on a large display board which will be displayed in maternity and this information will be used to form action plans, designed by both the staff and service users.
At the end of the event, everyone was asked to write down a personal pledge which will help to improve maternity services and included developing support on postnatal wards and support with perinatal mental health.
