Issued by: Department for Health and Social Care

Government to roll out the Avoiding Brain Injuries in Childbirth (ABC) programme nationally

• Government rolls out NHS programme to boost maternity safety

• Scheme will help maternity staff rapidly respond to emergencies and protect mothers and babies

• Hundreds of maternity staff, including obstetricians, midwives and anaesthetists, involved in developing and testing quality improvement programme

Expectant mothers will receive safer maternity care as a new NHS programme to help prevent brain injury during childbirth is rolled out across the country.

The Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth (ABC) programme will help maternity staff to better identify signs that the baby is in distress during labour so they can act quickly.

It will also help staff respond more effectively to obstetric emergencies, such as where the baby’s head becomes lodged deep in the mother’s pelvis during a caesarean birth.

The government programme, which will begin from September and follows an extensive development phase and pilot scheme, will reduce the number of avoidable brain injuries during childbirth – helping to prevent lifelong conditions like cerebral palsy.

The national rollout is only one step the government is taking to improve maternity services under its Plan for Change to fix the health service, as it reforms the NHS to ensure all women receive safe, personalised and compassionate care.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:

"All expectant mothers giving birth in an NHS hospital should have peace of mind that they are in safe hands.

"This vital programme will give staff across the country the right tools and training to deliver better care to women and their babies, reducing the devastating impact of avoidable brain injury.

"Under our Plan for Change, we are supporting trusts to make rapid improvements and training thousands more midwives – but I know more needs to be done. We will put women’s voices right at the heart of our reforms as we work to improve care."

The national rollout follows a pilot in 12 maternity units that was launched in October and delivered by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and the THIS (The Healthcare Improvement Studies) Institute.

The pilot has shown the programme will fill an important gap in current training by bringing multidisciplinary teams together to work more collaboratively than ever before, to improve outcomes. The programme will give clinicians more confidence to take swift action managing an emergency during labour.

It is expected to reduce unacceptable inequalities in maternity outcomes across England – so that most maternity units achieve outcomes comparable to the highest-performing 20% of trusts.

This government is dedicated to improving maternity services more widely and is committed to training thousands more midwives, as well as setting an explicit target to close the Black and Asian maternal mortality gap.

In addition, we have allocated an extra £57 million for Start for Life services, helping expectant and new mothers with their infants by providing expert, trusted advice and guidance around pregnancy, birth and motherhood.

Ranee Thakar, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said:

"The ABC programme supports multidisciplinary maternity teams to deliver safer, more personalised care. Hundreds of maternity staff, including obstetricians, midwives and anaesthetists, have been involved in developing and testing this quality improvement programme.

"We have heard what a difference it makes, supporting teams to work effectively together in time-sensitive and high-pressure situations. The RCOG is extremely proud to have been part of this fantastic collaboration."

Gill Walton, Royal College of Midwives Chief Executive, said:

"Every midwife, maternity support worker, obstetrician, anaesthetist and sonographer wants to provide good, safe care – and the best way to do that is by working and training together. The ABC programme has brought together all those involved in maternity care, offering practical solutions to some of the most acute clinical challenges.

"Crucially the ABC programme tools and training have been developed based on the voices of women, families and maternity staff. This has been the key to the success of the pilot programme.

"Equally the will and drive of midwives and the wider multidisciplinary team to improve safety and outcomes for women and their families has been evident across the course of the training at the pilot sites.

"The ABC programme has the potential to reduce the devastating impact of brain injuries during childbirth and the RCM is proud to have been part of this innovative programme and we hope to see this adopted and implemented across maternity services."

Professor Mary Dixon-Woods, Director of The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute, said:

"The ABC programme design is based on the principle that evidence-based, co-designed patient-focused standardisation of clinical practice can reduce unwarranted variation and improve care and outcomes.

"Crucially, this needs to be supported by comprehensive improvement resources, including training, tools and assets to enable good clinical practice and teamwork and respectful and inclusion communication and decision-making with women and birth partners.

"The pilot has shown that it’s possible to train people effectively and efficiently. A national commitment to implement the programme at scale will be important in ensuring that the benefits are seen."

Notes to editors

The following sites participated in the pilot scheme:

• Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

• East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

• Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

• Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust

• Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

• Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

• Croydon Health Services NHS Trust

• Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust

• St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

• Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

• Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

• Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

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