Jessop Wing maternity team recognised with national award nomination

A new emergency pre-briefing communication process set up by Jessop Wing maternity teams has been recognised through a national award nomination at the Patient Safety Awards.

The “Emergency Pre-Brief” is a verbal communication huddle which is now in embedded into routine use in the maternity unit to ensure the right preparations and plans are made before emergency obstetric surgery takes place.

The communication huddle takes place on the labour ward before every patient is transferred to theatre. It involves an obstetrician, anaesthetist, midwife, theatre coordinator and paediatrician, who run through a standardised checklist verifying information that can affect the surgery and other care needed.

The initiative was named as one of seven finalists in the ‘Maternity and Midwifery Initiative of the Year’ award at the Patient Safety Awards which were held in Manchester on September 18.

All labour ward clinical specialities including midwives, obstetricians, neonatologists, anaesthetists and theatre teams were involved in the development of the Emergency Pre-Brief.

Dr Fleur Roberts, Consultant Obstetric Anaesthetist for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “Our Emergency Pre-Brief ensures that the multidisciplinary team involved in the patient’s surgery receive the same information and important factors are communicated in an effective manner so the best care can be tailored to the individual’s clinical needs. The development of the Pre-Brief was a whole team effort, and we are delighted that this important initiative has been recognised nationally. The best reward is the adoption of this process into routine practice with positive feedback from both staff and patients.”

Almost 6,000 babies are born at the Jessop Wing every year.