WIREDGOV

Health Innovation North West Coast’s maternity and neonatal experts are part of a team that won a prestigious award for perinatal care.

The North West Perinatal Optimisation team was recognised for its outstanding contribution by winning the best national/regional project at the British Association of Perinatal Medicine’s (BAPM) Gopi Menon awards.

The award, named after a former president of the BAPM, celebrates the team’s excellence in providing vital support during the crucial perinatal period just before, during, and after birth.

The team aims to ensure that several perinatal interventions are carried out to deliver the best possible care for mothers, babies and their families.

Those measures include a delay in clamping the cord to allow an extra flow of blood to the baby, keeping the baby warm and encouraging early breast milk.

The optimisation team has worked hard to help improve services by setting up special interest groups, education and study days and local learning events for colleagues, as well as recording data for neonatal units.

The team’s leadership includes Amanda Andrews, Senior Programme Manager for the patient safety team at Health Innovation North West Coast, Catherine Nash from the North West Neonatal Operational Delivery Network, and Caroline Finch and Rebecca Williams from Health Innovation Manchester. It also includes obstetricians, midwives, nurses, paediatricians and other practitioners from provider trusts across the North West.

Amanda Andrews recently said:

“We’re thrilled and proud to win the award and it acknowledges a lot of hard work from a great many people.

“We were very keen to build a collaboration to make sure we share best practice and our learning across the region. That way we can ensure the very best outcomes for mothers, babies and their families.”

A series of events is due to start on 25 November to raise the profile of a programme to boost outcomes in maternity services in the North West. The week concludes at Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust with a showcase of best practice in optimising the preterm infant.