Beth, Service Improvement Manager in the Children’s Mental Health & Maternity Team at NHS Gloucestershire CCG and MVP, sent us a quick write-up on the first big MVP get-together since our launch:
“It was lovely to see some new faces as well as some familiar ones at Roots Community Café during our recent meetup. It’s the first big get-together since our launch event in June and we’ve been up to loads since then, so it was a good opportunity to take a moment to reflect.
After the important bit was out of the way (coffee, cake, catch up), we asked the group to look at our priorities so far and offer feedback on particular things e.g. feeding or partners staying overnight on the maternity ward at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.
What people told us was broadly consistent with that what we have heard at other events, particularly around use of language and how this can impact upon care. One mum who had a very difficult time trying to breastfeed told us that staff had used the term “artificial feeding” instead of “formula feeding” which she had understandably found upsetting. This is clearly a really important area, so we have identified this as a priority we would like to explore during 2020 and we’re pleased to be organising an infant feeding event around March time to discuss this in more detail. We will ensure that all of your feedback is passed to the Maternity team to look at how improvements can be made. Keep an eye on the website and Facebook page for more details!
Do come along to our next coffee and catch up which will be held at a different location within Gloucestershire during 2020 (venue tbc – drop us a line if you know somewhere child-friendly we can pitch up near you!)
Don’t forget, you can contact us at any time by emailing glccg.glosmvp@nhs.net
Beth”