Tower Hamlets and Newham Management of the Maternity Services Liaison Committee

The service provider will, in accordance with DH good practice guidelines (2006 and 2015 version to be published shortly), deliver a model of community engagement, cascading information about local maternity services and facilitating feedback from local communities on maternity services within Tower Hamlets and Newham.

The model of engagement will support the recruitment of a wide and representative lay membership of the Tower Hamlets and Newham Maternity Services Liaison Committees (MSLC) and facilitate their active participation as members of the MSLC. One third of membership will be lay members, in line with the DH guidelines.

The purpose of the MSLC is to advise NHS Tower Hamlets CCG and Newham CCG maternity care commissioners and service providers on all aspects of maternity services provided for its residents. The MSLC is thereby expected to contribute to the improvement of clinical quality, patient experience, and service efficiency for women and families using maternity services within the boroughs. The MSLC will be expected to play an active part in the following:
• Configuration of service provision and strategic development of local services
• Developing recommendations for maternity service improvements and reviewing progress on implementing changes
• Two-way feedback between providers and service users, enabling feedback on recent patient experience to be shared with maternity service providers and feedback from providers to residents on changes to service provision as a result
• Patient information and communications
• Consideration of lessons from investigations and reviews of maternity services by the Care Quality Commission, local audits, surveys and reviews etc.
• Comments on service specifications for community contracts
• Public and patient involvement
• Quality standards for maternity services and ways of monitoring standards
• Clinical governance audits and guidelines for clinical care
• The consistency in the delivery of maternity services and clinical practice across the borough.

In order to facilitate meaningful feedback on maternity services and engagement in the current and future improvements we are seeking to commission an organisation which will build strong links in the local community in order to deliver a model of community engagement which will support the objectives of the MSLC. To do this, the provider will be expected to operate as part of the contract:
1. monthly, community-based Mother Support Groups for mothers who have recently given birth in the borough.
2. Quarterly Maternity Services Liaison Committees, chaired by a local resident, in accordance with the national guidelines on MSLC