We Act.
Your feedback drives positive change. Your voices matter.
YOU SAID...WE DID
How you helped improve the RBH
Royal Berkshire Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership are here to listen to your voice. We work in partnership with the Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH) to take positive action so everyone has the potential to have the best birth experience possible. These are just a few of the success stories which have happened because of your feedback.
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You said...
That you wanted a dedicated homebirth team who would be with you throughout your pregnancy and birth. You wanted the same level of care delivered in your home and consistency with who you saw at each appointment.
We worked with the RBH to establish the homebirth team, holding focus groups to find out what was important to you.
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In April 2017 the RBH Homebirth team was formed and continues to go from strength to strength. You can self refer for a homebirth or ask your midwife to refer you.
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You said...
That Induction of Labour felt like you were cheated of the home experience in early labour and it felt too medicalised.
You also told us you weren't clear on the length of time or when you would give birth.
We worked with the RBH and the induction suite was improved with comfier beds, more relaxing features, like low lighting, and other creature comforts. The team ensured that labour balls, additional seating and all the essentials were available. We also reviewed the literature to ensure that those coming for an induction knew more about the process and what to expect.
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You said...
That you wanted caesarean births to feel more personalised and have choices over your care.
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We co-produced the Personalised Caesarean Birth guidelines which are in place at the RBH, working to give more options and choice when planning your birth.
We championed the change from c-section, operation, procedure to 'caesarean birth' and continue to advocate for personalised care.
We did...
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You said...
That the bereavement rooms needed soundproofing. During our 15 Steps activity, a brave mum shared her feedback after experiencing the death of her baby and the heartbreaking sound of other babies new born crys. A big thank you to Di for her input.
We raised the soundproofing issues during our 15 Steps debrief and championed the refurbishment plans. Extensive work has been completed to soundproof and improve the rooms. This was alongside an existing campaign and fundraising but Royal Berks Charity and tireless work by the Bereavement Team at the RBH.
We did...
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You said...
That you wanted partners to be allowed to stay longer and ideally overnight on the postnatal wards.
This was especially important when you were admitted overnight, after a long labour, or have an assisted or caesarean birth and couldn't move to care for your baby.
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It was also important to recognise the mental wellbeing and importance of the partner in the family unit
We advocated for this with the maternity teams and in March 2023 began a pilot for Family Bays meaning that in allocated bays partners could stay 24/7. We coproduced the guides for partners and information for birthing people with parent reps and partners. We used intelligence from our feedback sessions to develop a coproduced set of rules and to collaboratively decide on the Family Bay offering.
We did...
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You said...
​That you found the language in information leaflets difficult to understand and sometimes quite blunt especially when discussing sensitive subjects. You wanted to be spoken to directly in simple language.
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Speaking to many groups we heard the language you preferred and what was understood widely. We listened to reports from underrepresented groups about how triggering some language could be and looked at ways we could recognise this without alienating or making the information difficult to understand.
We work throughout the year to review all leaflets to ensure they are talking direct to you, explaining things in the simplest way possible and always offering informed choice.
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We worked with the Trust to identify where they need slight tweaks, more explanation or the information to be represented in a different way.
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We collaborate with other Trusts across BOB on video content, Easy Read leaflets and infographics.
We did...
...we did
You said...
That black women weren't having their booking appointments as early as they should be to identify risks they are more likely to have.
We work throughout the year to review all leaflets to ensure they are talking direct to you, explaining things in the simplest way possible and always offering informed choice.
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We worked with the Trust to identify where they need slight tweaks, more explanation or the information to be represented in a different way.
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We collaborate with other Trusts across BOB on video content, Easy Read leaflets and infographics.
We did...