Enhancing cultural competency in Devon’s maternity services
Midwives at Torbay and South Devon have been ‘trained to train’ frontline maternity staff to address bias in care for black, Asian and minority ethnic families, supported by Health Innovation South West.
Perinatal Bias and Newborn Assessment (PBNA) training addresses perinatal care and clinical assessment inequity, focusing on implicit bias and stereotyping for black, Asian and minority ethnic families.
To extend the PBNA training’s reach across the South West Peninsula, Health Innovation South West supported the founding midwives to create a ‘Train the Trainer’ model, enabling the maternity practitioners to disseminate training within their organisations.
In Torbay and South Devon NHS Trust, Specialist Public Health Midwife Hannah O’Sullivan and Education Lead Midwife Katherine Morgan recognised the need to address perinatal bias.
Undertaking Perinatal Bias and Newborn Assessment training with support from Health Innovation South West, they reflected on their own biases to drive change. Subsequently, they received resources from Health Innovation South West to conduct local colleague training.
The training incorporated non-white skinned mannequins, re-evaluating equipment calibration and terminology, and recording ethnicity in patient records. The training also looked at enhancing communication tools and provided resources for community midwives.
Staff feedback was positive, prompting plans for further training expansion to integrate clinical and human factors.
The midwives acknowledge this as an ongoing process, emphasising gradual progress toward equitable care provision.
- Perinatal Bias and Newborn Assessment (PBNA) training addresses perinatal care and clinical assessment inequity, focusing on implicit bias and stereotyping for black, Asian and minority ethnic families.
- To extend the PBNA training’s reach across the South West Peninsula, Health Innovation South West supported the founding midwives to create a ‘Train the Trainer’ model, enabling the maternity practitioners to disseminate training within their organisations.
- In Torbay and South Devon NHS Trust, Specialist Public Health Midwife Hannah O’Sullivan and Education Lead Midwife Katherine Morgan recognised the need to address perinatal bias.
- Undertaking Perinatal Bias and Newborn Assessment training with support from Health Innovation South West, they reflected on their own biases to drive change. Subsequently, they received resources from Health Innovation South West to conduct local colleague training.
- The training incorporated non-white skinned mannequins, re-evaluating equipment calibration and terminology, and recording ethnicity in patient records. The training also looked at enhancing communication tools and provided resources for community midwives.
- Staff feedback was positive, prompting plans for further training expansion to integrate clinical and human factors.
- The midwives acknowledge this as an ongoing process, emphasising gradual progress toward equitable care provision.
In Torbay and South Devon we don't have a lot of exposure to cultural differences. We felt we had a responsibility to address how we approach perinatal bias in our department. We thought it important to open the conversation and to think about the impact of our decision making and the care that we provide.
Specialist Public Health Midwife, Hannah O’Sullivan, and Education Lead Midwife, Katherine Morgan
