Newsroom
Maternity social media pages shortlisted for award
The Facebook and Instagram pages run by the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust’s maternity services have been shortlisted in this year’s HSJ (Health Service Journal) patient safety awards, in the category of ‘Safety Improvement through Technology’.
Although first created during the Covid-19 pandemic, the pages were reinvigorated a year ago to help local service users get the information they need to make the right choices about their care and make improvements to the services they use.
The pages now have more than 5,000 followers, with frequent engagement opportunities posted throughout the week, such as ‘meet the team Mondays’ to help familiarise people with staff, Q&A sessions on a wide variety of issues with specialist members of the team, as well as birthing statistics for each month, and virtual tours of the units at the West Suffolk Hospital.
The weekly Q&A sessions focus on a specific topic, and receive significant engagement, with the answers seen by more than 1,000 people.
Senior midwife, Meghann Muñoz, who manages the pages, said: “Most healthy adults have never had a hospital admission. We are therefore working to try and reduce the anxiety many women feel about coming into hospital for scheduled appointments or to give birth.
“There are many studies that show accessing antenatal education improves outcomes for both women and babies, as well as reducing the risk of birth trauma following the experience. We’re trying to increase the reach of our antenatal education by utilising non-traditional methods. It is only by educating women about their choices that they can make truly informed decisions about the care they receive. It also allows women to engage with our service in a way they haven’t before. A recent survey we posted about visiting hours on our postnatal ward received more than 400 responses, and this has meant we are able to change our policy in line with what service users want.”
The pages also aim to meet the needs of diverse, less advantaged and vulnerable groups. Meghann continued: “The social media platforms feature automatic translation, which while not always 100% perfect, means those who don’t speak English as a first language can still understand the advice we’re giving.
“By providing virtual tours of the units and meeting the team, as well as sharing our service’s achievements, we are increasing the feeling of community in our area. Instead of feeling anxious, women should feel as though they are part of the community, that we care about their wellbeing, and that their feedback can steer the future of the maternity service we provide.”
Karen Newbury, director of midwifery for the Trust, said: “This is another fantastic example of our amazing team finding new and innovative ways to enhance the care we provide.
“Making sure that our women know the choices available to them, so they can make the decisions around their care that are right for them, improves not just the care we provide but also the confidence they have during this life changing journey.”
Meghann and the team gave a presentation to a panel of judges on Friday, 19 July, with the final decision due at an awards ceremony in September.
If you are interested in seeing the work the maternity team are doing, you can find them at @wsftmaternity on Instagram, or West Suffolk Maternity on Facebook.
Back to Newsroom