Shine 2012 final report: A checklist collaborative: Involving women and birth partners in ‘harm free care’

Having a baby in the UK is the safest it has ever been, but there are opportunities for significant further improvements (Royal College of obstetricians and Gynaecologists 2013). Providing high quality, seamless care during labour and birth is complex and challenging; the NHS system and culture, human factors, communication and team working are all complex issues that can impact on the delivery of safe care (Kings Fund 2008).
The delivery of ’harm free care’ is a relatively new concept in the NHS and the development and incentivising of the NHS Safety Thermometer (Classic) has focused attention on quality improvements in the delivery of ‘harm free care’ (www.harm free care.org, http://www.safetythermometer.nhs.uk).
Although there is significant routine monitoring of women in labour, there is currently no composite measure of harm in maternity (although a maternity NHS Safety Thermometer is in the development and testing phase). Neither is there a national standardised checklist in use during labour and delivery to increase reliability of care.
Our primary aim was to develop a safety checklist for labour and delivery. We had a secondary aim to measure outcomes using the Maternity NHS Safety Thermometer but this has not been possible due to this still being in the final stages of development. This project has therefore focused on the development, testing and evaluation for acceptability and compliance of a checklist for labour and birth.