Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnerships

Healthwatch Norfolk was asked to undertake an independent review of the Norfolk and Waveney Maternity and Neonatal Voice Partnerships (MNVPs). These partnerships play an important role in getting people’s feedback of their experience of using maternity and neonatal services and using this feedback to improve the safety, quality and experience of these services. NHS England produced guidance in November 2023 to ensure Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) meet their responsibilities in making sure that MNVPs can do the job they are meant to do and put feedback from service-users at the heart of service improvement. 

Healthwatch structured the report around this guidance to help show where the MNVPs met the guidance or whether changes were needed. They interviewed the MNVP Leads, Midwifery and Neonatal Senior Staff from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, the James Paget and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, representatives from the Norfolk and Waveney ICB, regional Maternity and Neonatal Leads and representatives from Kernow MNVP, which is seen as a model of excellence.

Healthwatch found out that the neonatal work is less developed, as it has only recently been included in the work of the MNVP. There are concerns that the “maternity voice” tends to dominate and there is some frustration about this. Healthwatch also heard that it is important that the Neonatal Lead is someone with lived experience of neonatal care, but it can be hard to recruit people with this. 

Engagement with regional groups, such as the Parent Advisory Group (PAG) for parents with lived experience of neonatal care, the Regional Neonatal Leads Group and the Regional Maternity Voices Leads Group could be improved with better clarity around roles and responsibilities. This could increase support to the Neonatal Leads.

The MNVPs are very good at engaging with their local communities, including bereaved parents and the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. Feedback and other data are used to make changes to services. They undertake the processes for reviewing services outlined in the guidance – Fifteen Steps and Walk the Patch. The MNVPs are valued by the Trusts and the MNVP Leads are expected to attend key meetings. 

MNVP Leads should be service users with lived experience of maternity and neonatal care. However, they are expected to have leadership skills that will enable them to lead a complex programme of work. They should also be paid at an appropriate level for the role and should not be volunteers. The guidance suggests they should either be employed by the ICB or through a third party organisation, or be self-employed. This is not the case for the Norfolk and Waveney MNVP Leads. 

The funding for the MNVPs was a key issue; the MNVP Leads do not feel they have sufficient hours to undertake the role that they are now being asked to do, especially engaging with diverse groups and attendance at key meetings. The rate of pay is not seen as adequate for the role. The fact that the MNVP Leads are not employed leaves the Trusts vulnerable and the Leads unprotected