Maternity Huddle

Introduction

Safety huddles in the NHS are brief, multidisciplinary briefings focused on improving patient safety. They aim to enhance communication, promote teamwork, and improve situational awareness by discussing potential risks and celebrating successes in preventing harm. 

Aim:

Safety Huddles are designed to create a safe environment for staff to raise concerns and discuss potential risks, as well as celebrate successes in preventing harm. All relevant team members, including those from non-clinical areas, are encouraged to participate. 

The safety huddle should  aim to identify specific actions that can be taken to improve patient safety. The Huddle can be used to reflect on near misses and incidents, and to identify areas for improvement. 

Benefits of Safety Huddle

The safety huddle should be used as a platform for teams to communicate effectively and share information about patients and potential risks. 

Huddles foster a sense of shared responsibility and teamwork, as staff from different disciplines work together to address safety concerns. 

By sharing information and discussing potential risks, huddles help staff develop a better understanding of the overall patient safety situation. 

The Huddle should help to identify and address potential risks, and  can help prevent patient harm. By discussing signs and symptoms of deterioration, appropriate actions can be taken.

By focusing on safety and patient well-being, huddles can contribute to a better overall patient experience. 

Maternity Huddle

• The Maternity safety huddle should include, Midwife in Charge of Labour Ward, Obstetric Consultant, Obstetric Registrar, Anaesthetist on-call and member of Special Care Baby Unit team. This should happen each morning at 09.00hours in Labour Ward.
• There should be an additional huddle in Labour Ward at 20.00hrs which should include Midwife in charge of Labour Ward, Registrar on-call and Consultant Obstetrician ( If present in the unit)
• All huddles should be documented on the huddle templates, (see Appendix 1)  each section of the document should be completed and it should be signed by the lead of the huddle.
• The Huddle templates are located in Labour Ward Office and should be stored in the office, then transferred on the Labour Ward drive.