The CfWI produces high-quality intelligence to inform workforce planning policy decisions in health, public health and social care

Maternity Care Pathways tool – a support to local workforce planning

Kate Langford, CfWI Medical/Clinical Director

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What is it?The Maternity Care Pathways (MCP) workforce tool enables maternity providers to analyse their whole maternity workforce.

Key benefits:

A clear visual representation of how staff are deployed on care pathways that are mapped and agreed in-house.

The tool encourages debate, planning and decision-making throughout the wider maternity team.

The tool can also be used with workforce planners and commissioners to help convey information about the service’s care pathway activities and the likely impact of change.

Aligned with the Maternity Tariff, it will aid the understanding of the cost implications of service change.

Reports are bespoke to each local service, and also enable the team to see information on staff numbers and hours of activity for any planned change. It can also provide information which will support discussions between services or within networks, on service design and planning.

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What is it?

The MCP tool is:

• Designed for use by providers of maternity services.

• Designed to analyse a service’s maternity workforce along summary care pathways.

• Aligned with the maternity tariff.• Designed to provide analysis about possible

future change scenarios.• An aid to better informed workforce

decision-making.• Reliant on data inputted by the service.• Excel-based.

The MCP tool is not:

• A benchmarking tool.• A replacement for other established

tools such as Birthrate Plus. • A source of the ‘right’ answer, it is part

of the toolkit to support decision making.

• An accounting tool.

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How does it work?

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Mapping your service

Mapping your service

Staff workshop(s) to map the detail of 7 summary care pathways

Staff workshop(s) to map the detail of 7 summary care pathways

Getting ready to use the toolGetting ready to use the tool

Data collection Identify service change scenarios

Data collection Identify service change scenarios

Using the toolUsing the tool Analysis of current maternity

workforce Analysis of change scenarios

Analysis of current maternity workforce

Analysis of change scenarios

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How has the tool been produced?2011/12 – The CfWI scoped the project• Scoped the development of a new tool with a number of maternity stakeholders, to

establish its potential value and key benefits.

2012/13 – Developed prototype MCP tool • Developed and tested a prototype tool in partnership with four maternity providers• High-level review of the tool via Heads of Midwifery Networks.

2013/14 – Finalising the tool and guidance documentation• Commissioned by Health Education England and the Department of Health to finalise

the MCP tool based on detailed feedback from maternity providers.

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Pilot sites across the country

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The pilot process

• 19 pilot sites across the country volunteered to help refine the tool.

• All sites given password-restricted access to the tool and the guidance document (December 2013).

• The project team visited all sites, and sites started using the tool (January 2014).

• Pilot sites asked to complete 4 structured questionnaires to gather detailed feedback on all aspects of using the tool and supporting documentation (June 2014).

• Extended the pilot to September 2014 to allow further site visits, workshops and tool improvements to be developed and built.

• Tool refined and improved based on specific feedback from all sites.

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Key outcomes and learning from the pilot sites

Positive national engagement - key addition to the toolkit to support local workforce planning.

Process mapping takes time, but the effort required to use the tool is frontloaded.

Keeping to a summary level is challenging – use only enough detail for modelling and planning.

A support to service planning, a focus on local professional judgement.

Tool, guidance document and supporting video now finalised. Pre-release to pilot sites took place October 2014.

Tool and all accompanying resources made universally available free of charge on HEE website in January 2015. Over 100 users have already registered. http://hee.nhs.uk/maternity-care-pathways/

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Some thoughts from the pilot sites... “Once pathway data agreed, then the tool can be used and reused easily. Gives a good

visual representation of where staff roles are being over/under utilised.”

“Able to use as part of a body of evidence whilst currently looking at job descriptions and knowledge, skills and competency frameworks as well as investment in staff numbers.”

“I think it is a valuable piece of work to go through the procedure to review the times spent by staff at each part of the pathway.”

“Provides an additional resource for longer term planning or for looking at the impact of reduction, increase or change in service delivery.”

“I have enjoyed learning about the tool...the tool has generated discussion around how we want our service to look and how it needs to look going forward.”

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Centre for Workforce Intelligence209 – 215 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NL General enquiries T +44(0)20 7803 2707 E enquiries@cfwi.org.uk

www.cfwi.org.uk

For further information about the maternity care pathways workforce tool pilot:maternity@cfwi.org.uk