Seven sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) will pilot a new maternity transformation programme to test a range of service innovations.
The pilot sites will take forward the recommendations set out in Better Births, a five year forward view for maternity care released in February.
Seven sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) will pilot a new maternity transformation programme to test a range of service innovations.
The pilot sites will take forward the recommendations set out in Better Births, a five year forward view for maternity care released in February.
New innovations set to be tested include using small teams of midwives to offer continuity of care, creating single points of access to a wide range of maternity services, making better use of electronic records, improving postnatal care and providing better personalised care planning.
Chosen areas cover a population of nine million, with around 126,300 births each year.
The areas to pilot the services include: Birmingham and Solihull STP, Cheshire and Merseyside STP, Dorset STP, North Central London STP, West London STP, Somerset STP and Surrey Heartlands STP.
Each STP will receive a share of up to £8 million will be available over the next two years to support the changes in maternity services.
Jane Cummings, chief nursing officer for England and senior responsible owner for the Maternity Transformation Programme, said: “These seven early adopters have all presented strong clinically lead visions for transforming maternity services.
“The changes these sites seek to make will be wide ranging and test a number of recommendations from Better Births, such as making continuity of carer a reality for women, ensuring personalised care planning and improving postnatal care. The Early Adopters will help deliver real improvements to maternity care in these areas.”
Sarah-Jane Marsh, chair of the Maternity Transformation Programme and chief executive of Birmingham Children's Hospital and Birmingham Women's Hospital, said: “I am hugely excited to be working with our fabulous seven early adopter areas. They are crucial to transforming maternity care in England, and the changes they implement will make services more responsive, personalised, safer and kinder, as well as providing learning for the rest of the country.”
NHS England has said the early adopter sites will “play a key role” in rolling out the Better Births initiatives on a national scale.