Baroness Merron, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women's Health and Mental Health, met staff and service users during a tour of Maternity and Neonatal Services at Southmead Hospital, Bristol.
The Baroness and Professor Donald Peebles, National Clinical Director for Maternity at NHS England, visited the hospital, which is run by North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT), on Friday, 20 September 2024.
Pictured: Professor Donald Peebles, National Clinical Director for Maternity at NHS England; Julie Northrop, NBT Director of Maternity and Nursing for Women’s and Children’s Health; Jo Crofts, Lead Obstetrician at NBT; Baroness Merron, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women's Health and Mental Health; Gifty Markey, NBT Associate Chief Nursing Officer for Mental Health, Learning Disability and Neurodiversity; Rosi Shepherd, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (BNSSG ICB) Chief Nursing Officer and Chair of the BNSSG Local Maternity and Neonatal System (LMNS); and Professor Sanjoy Shah, NBT Deputy Chief Medical Officer.
The visit was focused on Maternity, with the Baroness, in particular, very keen to hear more about the Black Maternity Matters collaboration locally and the implementation of the Saving Babies’ Lives Version 3 care bundle, which encourages use of the PERIPrem interventions for premature babies – another initiative developed locally.
As part of the visit, the Baroness and Professor Peebles discussed maternity services with Maria Kane, Joint Chief Executive of NBT and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW), and colleagues at NBT, as well as Rosi Shepherd, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (BNSSG ICB) Chief Nursing Officer and Chair of the BNSSG Local Maternity and Neonatal System (LMNS).
Pictured: Baroness Merron, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women's Health and Mental Health; Professor Sanjoy Shah, NBT Deputy Chief Medical Officer; Gifty Markey, NBT Associate Chief Nursing Officer for Mental Health, Learning Disability and Neurodiversity.
Noshin Menzies and Ann Remmers, from Health Innovation West of England attended to talk about the Black Maternity Matters collaboration, and Gifty Markey, NBT’s Associate Chief Nursing Officer for Mental Health, Learning Disability and Neurodiversity, shared an update on NBT’s recently launched Mental Health Strategy.
Baroness Merron and Professor Peebles were also given a tour of Maternity and Neonatal Services by Julie Northrop, NBT Director of Maternity and Nursing for Women’s and Children’s Health; Jo Crofts, Lead Obstetrician at NBT; and Professor Sanjoy Shah, NBT Deputy Chief Medical Officer.
Pictured: Baroness Merron meeting Tamara Sanchez Cuevas, Maternity service user.
During the tour of NBT’s maternity services, which were rated Good by the Care Quality Commission this year, Baroness Merron and Professor Peebles met service users, as well as a number of staff from central delivery suite, the bereavement suite, antenatal triage, postnatal, and the neonatal intensive care unit.
Maria Kane, Joint Chief Executive of NBT and UHBW, said: “We were very pleased to welcome Baroness Merron and Professor Peebles to Southmead Hospital for such an excellent visit.
“The day gave a fantastic overview of all of the amazing work that takes place every day to provide the best care possible for our service users. Both Baroness Merron and Professor Peebles spoke very highly of their visit and thanked the staff and service users they met.”
Rosi Shepherd, BNSSG ICB Chief Nursing Officer and Chair of the BNSSG LMNS, said: “We were really pleased to welcome Baroness Merron and Professor Peebles to Southmead Hospital. Their visit recognises the great work being done in the area, particularly around our work to improve outcomes for Black mothers and their babies.”
Pictured: Baroness Merron and Professor Charles Roehr, Consultant Neonatologist.
Noshin Menzies, from Health Innovation West of England and representing the Black Maternity Matters collaboration, said: “We were delighted to meet with Baroness Merron during her visit to Bristol and to have the opportunity to talk to her about the impact we’re having with the Black Maternity Matters programme and to raise the profile of this very real patient safety issue.
“NBT and BNSSG ICB have been an active collaborator and supporter since the beginning of our Black Maternity Matters journey. Baroness Merron was very interested in the unique approach we are taking to tackle the significant disparities Black women face in maternal and neonatal health outcomes, which is focused on anti-racist education, peer support and quality improvement transformation projects.”