Start Well update

Start Well is a North Central London (NCL) programme transforming maternity and neonatal services across North Central London, bringing together NHS organisations to improve outcomes, experiences and equity for women, babies and families.

Start Well is focused on delivering high-quality, equitable and sustainable maternity and neonatal services for current and future generations. Over recent months, partners from across North Central London have been working together to progress the programme's vision, developing the plans, pathways and enablers needed to support implementation while ensuring future services build on existing strengths and improve outcomes and experiences for families.

This work has highlighted many existing strengths across local services, including:

• High-quality specialist and multidisciplinary care
• Good access to a range of maternity services and birth options
• A strong focus on prevention and population health
• Innovative approaches to postnatal care, including care closer to home
• High-quality neonatal care and support
• Strong collaboration between maternity and neonatal teams

The programme is now focusing on how best to build on these strengths by improving consistency, access and experience across services, helping to ensure families receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place.

Developing a Central Booking System

One area being explored is the development of a North Central London Central Booking System for maternity services. This would provide a more consistent way for people to access maternity care and support early assessment and early clinical triage where appropriate. Potential benefits include:

• More consistent access to maternity services across North Central London
• Improved support for informed choice
• Timely assessment and direction to the most appropriate care
• Better use of information to help plan services and understand demand

Building the foundations for the future

Alongside service improvement work, NHS organisations involved in Start Well continue to explore opportunities to ensure facilities and infrastructure can support high-quality maternity and neonatal care in the years ahead. Planning and design work is progressing across a number of sites.  Early enabling works to deliver a transformed maternity and neonatal estate on the Whittington Hospital site commenced in March with the start of demolition of the Old Boiler House (link to article here).
 
Royal Free London is progressing planning and design work to support the programme across two sites.

Over the coming months, the programme will continue to:

• Develop plans to support high-quality maternity and neonatal care across North Central London
• Progress work on service pathways and models of care
• Explore opportunities to improve access, consistency and patient experience
• Continue engagement with clinicians, staff, patients and partner organisations

The Start Well programme brings together the following NHS organisations across North Central London to deliver safer, more equitable and sustainable maternity and neonatal services for women, babies and families, both now and in the future.