NEWS & UPDATES


Dr David Morgan MRCOG David is a Consultant


Obstetrician and


Thinking inside the box A


ir accident investigators use flight recorders, more commonly known


as black boxes, to help determine the cause of aviation accidents. These catastrophic events are analysed and shared to prevent similar events in the future. In the delivery suite, babies ‘crash’ one at


a time. The event is devastating but private. Families don’t assemble at airports with the media, recording their grief while news is awaited from the authorities. There is no flight data recorder. There is a set of notes, the


GBS audit update


practice in preventing early-onset neonatal group B streptococcal (EOGBS) disease in the UK. This work was conducted in partnership with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, supported by the Royal College of Midwives and funded by the UK National Screening Committee. The first report from the audit was published in March 2015. The second report is expected to be published at the end of this year. This final report will contain the findings of a survey of NHS midwifery- led units, a review of local protocols on preventing EOGBS, a review of patient information on GBS, and a case vignette exercise that explored how patient factors influence clinical decision making on offering intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis against EOGBS. Find out more about the GBS audit and read the first report at:


D http://bit.ly/1NGwZo9


uring 2014 the RCOG undertook an audit examining current


Gynaecologist at Antrim Area Hospital, Northern Ireland. He is the Each Baby Counts Lead Reporter for the Northern Health & Social Care Trust.


recollections of staff and the possibility of a post-mortem examination. Each Baby Counts is creating a black box


which records the data of the three ‘airliners’: intrapartum stillbirths, early neonatal deaths and severely injured babies born in our maternity units from 2015 onwards. Evidence suggests we can prevent some of these events. All of us want to, but without data and change we are destined to continue as we are. Our stillbirth rate has been described as the ‘cot deaths’ scandal of our generation. No


randomised controlled trials or confidential enquiry will solve this problem; data and informed quality improvement will. Each Baby Counts is the first step to finding our black box and saving hundreds of babies per year. Our team in the Northern Trust is glad to participate and eager to learn from the findings. Read more about the Each Baby Counts


initiative and sign up for regular updates at: http://bit.ly/1xHV3L5


Third- and fourth-degree tears project O


ver the last 10 years, rates of obstetric anal sphincter injury


(OASI) in England have tripled. In an effort to reverse this trend and prevent OASI, the RCOG has partnered with the Royal College of Midwives to develop a care bundle of intrapartum interventions. The care bundle is currently being piloted in maternity units throughout the UK and we expect to be able to share results of the pilot by mid-2016. In September 2015, we invited the pilot


units to the College to launch the pilot and their enthusiasm and feedback has helped us to develop an even stronger care bundle. Following completion of the pilot, we hope to be able to recommend this care bundle for use in maternity units throughout the UK and minimise this devastating outcome. For more information on the project visit:


http://bit.ly/1d11S5G


Maternal mental health T


he RCOG is looking into the matter of maternal mental health seriously


and will be working in partnership with other professionals such as GPs, midwives, health visitors and perinatal psychiatrists on caring for women with mental health needs. We are aware that there is a lot of good work going on in pockets across the country and are mindful of not duplicating effort. There has been much interest and activity


around perinatal mental health through the Maternal Mental Health Alliance:


http://bit.ly/11VnPxu Our colleagues at the Royal College of 4


Midwives are creating a virtual network of mental health specialists caring for pregnant women and mothers. The virtual network includes an online forum for multidisciplinary discussions and details of training opportunities. If you and your trust would like to be


involved in this network, please contact Jenny.McLeish@rcm.org.uk. Tommy’s, the mother and baby charity, has useful resources on mental health and pregnancy. For more information visit:


http://bit.ly/1JA4rrz The RCOG will be publishing new eLearning


support in the coming months. Members will be informed once this is available.


O&G November 2015


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