Reducing Caesarean Sections

Portsmouth Chosen for National Project

We have been selected as an early adopter site for a national project.

We have been chosen as one of only 22 units to pilot a national project seeking to reduce our caesarean section rate.  The Institute of Innovation and Improvement are funding the research and it is supported by the Department of Health. As part of their aim to ‘deliver quality and value’, they discovered that the ever increasing caesarean section rate could be decreased, indeed they found that the rate varied around the country with some units achieving a rate of 20% and aiming to reduce even further.

Through interviews, observation and discussion they mapped processes, principles and behaviours that supported the lower rates of caesarean sections. They devised a toolkit which can be used by units to self-assess where they are as a unit, in their provision of care.

We have begun this process - workshops are underway assessing where we are and where we would like to be. The assessment process does not to seek to find out where we may be going wrong but how we might improve given the needs of our community. These are aimed at all professionals because only as a whole can developments and improvements take place.

As a service Portsmouth Hospital Maternity Services are committed to assessing and implementing improvements that will benefit mothers, babies and families.  This process will not happen quickly and will require a sustained effort from staff.