COVER FEATURE


focused on understanding that the women in front of them were human. So we wanted something that was going to get people really thinking.”


Whose Shoes?® initiative Florence had seen some work on dementia care that had been facilitated by a tool designed by Gill Phillips called Whose Shoes?®. Florence felt it was a great starting point and talked it through with Gill, who then put her in touch with Kath Evans, National Lead for Patient Experience for Maternity, Children and Young People at NHS England.


“I had an amazingly enabling conversation with Kath,” says Florence. “She told me to just do it and see what happened, adding ‘you’re overthinking it’. I went back to the group, who weren’t sure, until I told them I’d spoken to Kath and that she wanted to part-fund it!” This was a major turning point, says Florence. “The fact I had someone national supporting the idea totally swung it.” The Whose Shoes?® board game uses


tailored scenarios to spark discussions between participants. The group includes healthcare professionals and service users. Anyone can take part, and it’s useful for breaking down disciplinary barriers and flattening hierarchies. The tool helps professionals at all levels to see new perspectives, those of service users – in this case women – and other staff members.


Open dialogue Florence’s first workshop was a resounding success: “I told the group about my own birth experiences. One was very bad and one was very good. I didn’t tell them they were about me, until the very end.” Florence says this was a very powerful message: “I


O&G November 2015


was saying to them, ‘Yes, I might be a senior obstetrician, but I’m also a person’.” While the conversations take place,


participants write ideas on sticky notes, which are then illustrated by a graphic artist. Both common and specific themes are pulled out and participants are asked to think about the changes they can make. They’re then asked to pledge a commitment and come up with an action plan. A key contact is then assigned to follow up on progress. Florence continues, “Often when we do things in a hospital it doesn’t necessarily filter down to everyone. But Whose Shoes?® instilled a sense of personal ownership. It has empowered people to bring forward ideas, and it really can be anybody and everybody.” New relationships between staff and


women were built and existing relationships strengthened. Florence continues, “Even though some improvements didn’t happen easily or overnight, and staff could have given up, they kept at it. Something about the workshops and seeing success elsewhere makes people stick with it.”


Collective thinking Florence says Whose Shoes?® demonstrated to everyone that all ideas and views are valued. Through the initial five pilot workshops, Florence spent time energising others who then went on to play leading roles in growing the initiative. Social media played an important part too. The #MatExp hashtag on Twitter took off and suddenly the work snowballed. “People who came along [to the


workshops] got enthused and went on to do many other things. That rippled out to those who hadn’t come. The #MatExp hashtag reinforces itself; everyone wants to


Images and use courtesy of Jude Jones (@beetrooter), Helen Calvert (@HeartMummy), Nicolette Peel (@nicolettepeell), Gill Phillips (@WhoseShoes) and Manchester Homebirth (@MancHomebirth).


It has helped everybody to see women as a whole person, not just the diagnosis or condition.


demonstrate what they’re doing because it’s exciting and innovative. It has even got competitive at times.” The Whose Shoes?® work has not only


brought together teams of people and established connections between Trusts and disciplines, it has also had a profound effect on Florence’s own practice. “I thought I was quite a people-centred person before I did this, but now, when I’m with a woman, I am constantly asking myself ‘how can I make this experience better for her?’


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