Maternity and neonatal
Overview
Led by NHS England, the National Maternity and Neonatal Safety Improvement Programme’s (MatNeoSIP) mission is to create and embed the conditions for all staff to improve the safety and outcomes of maternal and neonatal care by reducing unwarranted variation and provide a high-quality healthcare experience for all women, babies and families across England.
The MatNeoSIP aims to reduce the rates of maternal and neonatal deaths, stillbirths, and brain injuries that occur during or soon after birth by 50% by 2025. It also aims to reduce the national rate of preterm births from 8% to 6% by 2025.
We are working in partnership with:
- South London Trusts
- Service users
- Local Maternity and Neonatal Systems (LMNS)
- Regional maternity and neonatal leaders
- Other Health Innovation Networks
- Commissioners
Projects
There are four projects that we’ve been supporting as part of this programme.
Optimisation and stabilisation of the preterm infant
The aims are to:
- Contribute to the national ambition set out in Better Births to reduce the rates of maternal and neonatal deaths, stillbirths and brain injuries that occur during or soon after birth by 50% by 2025.
- Contribute to the national ambition set out in Safer Maternity Care to reduce the national rate of preterm births from 8% to 6%.
- Improve the safety and outcomes of maternal and neonatal care by reducing unwarranted variation and providing a high-quality healthcare experience for all women, babies, and families across maternity and neonatal care settings in England.
We have been supporting our south London trusts to implement and sustain improvements for the nine elements of optimal preterm care, including the adoption of a communication and counselling tool for parents and clinicians.
As part of this project we have supported and collaborated with our south London trusts to produce resources that include:
Early recognition and management of deterioration in perinatal care
The aims are to:
- Ensure the use of Maternity Early Warning score (MEWS) is embedded within an effective PIER pathway for managing deterioration.
- Ensure the use of Neonatal Early Warning Trigger and Track (NEWT2) is embedded within an effective PIER pathway for managing deterioration.
Avoiding Brain Injuries in Childbirth (ABC) programme
The Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth (ABC) programme is a national initiative commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care.
It aims to reduce avoidable brain injuries in childbirth by March 2027. It aims to deliver better outcomes and experiences for patients and families by improving clinical practice and communication and care for women and families.
We will support implementation of the ABC programme among south London Trusts by providing:
- Clinical leadership.
- Supporting effective integration of ABC training into mandatory staff training.
- Provide ongoing coaching and support through remote drop-in sessions.
- On-site visits and adopting a train-the-trainer model on managing impacted fetal head (IFH) and intrapartum fetal deterioration (IFD).
Perinatal culture and leadership programme
The aims are to:
- Improve the quality of care by enabling leaders to drive change with a better understanding of the relationship between leadership, safety improvement, and safety culture.
- Support perinatal leadership teams to create and craft the conditions for a positive culture of safety and continuous improvement, enabling a more psychologically safe, collaborative, and supportive workplace.
- Improve the safety and outcomes of maternal and neonatal care by reducing unwarranted variation and providing a high-quality healthcare experience for all women, babies, and families across maternity and neonatal care settings in England.
Useful resouces
- Case Study: Co‑producing a London‑wide Perinatal Optimisation Parent Information Leaflet
Download - Partners with People: Involvement newsletter
Download - Report: Experience-based co-design for improving and integrating mental health pathways within pulmonary rehabilitation services in south east London
Download
Perinatal Culture and Leadership Programme
The challenge
Supporting perinatal leaders to create and sustain a positive safety culture across services.
Solution
We facilitated a series of coaching workshops for senior perinatal leaders across south London. These sessions created a reflective and collaborative space for leaders to explore how leadership behaviours and day-to-day practice can influence culture, strengthen relationships, and support safer care.
Having been a consultant for ten years, I’ve been sent a lot of stuff on culture and teamwork. This is a very different take. It’s the first time you’ve got the follow up. You keep us accountable. We would lose momentum if you didn’t hold us to account.
Clinical Director
[The workshops] have made working relationships better. It has opened doors for discussions, helping us to make time to do what we want to do. It has provided avenues for what we can do, giving different perspectives and having that safe space. It is not just a talking shop. It is doing and delivering following the investment of time. It gives us channels to progress.
Perinatal Leadership Team
14
14 trust-specific workshops delivered
67
67 senior leaders engaged across south London
95%
95% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the workshops improved communication with colleagues and other leaders
Get in touch
If you have any questions or would like more information about the Maternity and Neonatal Safety Improvement Programme or the local learning system, please contact us.
Projects
Latest
Case Study: Co‑producing a London‑wide Perinatal Optimisation Parent Information Leaflet
South London Perinatal Optimisation Project Case Study Posters 2024/25
South London Optimisation and Stabilisation of the Preterm Infant
News
Latest
Patient Safety Collaboratives continue to support improvement across the healthcare system
Health Innovation Funding Opportunities
Involvement opportunity: resident panel members to inform the development of community-based weight management services
Blog
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