Voices For Choices CIC

What’s different 31 August 2024 – 31 August 2025 (last Summer) Voices for Choices (CIC) provides support and information to women, birthing people and their families allowing them to provide feedback on their experiences of maternity services and influence the development of healthcare provision. Evidence shows that greater input from service users leads to better care and provision. We undertake research and engagement with maternity service users and feed this back to service providers. These activities benefit the community by having an organisation that brings voices together and then works with NHS maternity healthcare providers to reflect these experiences. We seek out the seldom heard voices particularly in disadvantaged and under-represented communities. This process helps families to talk and support one another, share their experiences of maternity care and also gathers information, ideas and evidence to support decision-making within the maternity system. We work primarily in the Greater Manchester (GM) area, but also with a range of organisations nationally to support research and engagement in maternity care. During the period outlined in this return (01 September 2024 - 31 August 2025) Voices for Choices has benefited the community by: Following a change in national guidance in November 2023, Maternity Voices Partnerships became Maternity & Neonatal Voice Partnerships (MNVPs), incorporating the Neonatal service-user voice. As a result of this shift, we have increased and deepened our partnership working with the Greater Manchester based Neonatal charity Spoons. Spoons now take primary responsibility for feeding in the neonatal voice within the MNVPs. During this period we increased the number of MNVPs from 6 to 8 covering St Mary’s Oxford Road, Wythenshawe, North Manchester, Bolton, Stockport, Tameside, Oldham & Rochdale and Wigan. MNVP meetings were held at each site which brought together families, VCSE organisations and maternity healthcare professionals to consider and take action on areas for service improvement within maternity. We have also expanded to include five engagement officers who cover Greater Manchester. Across the LMNS footprint our leads attended key operational, strategy and review meetings, enabling the service user voice to be represented strategically, reflecting best practice in co production, influence and to support the development of local services. As part of meeting the MNVP guidance and Maternity Incentive Scheme Safety Action 7 our MNVP leads are becoming embedded in Trust governance meetings, including for example safety champion meetings and maternity governance meetings. Involvement in working groups during this period included, pelvic health, maternal mortality, continuity of carer, infant feeding and personalised care and support planning. We continued to deliver our Greater Manchester wide project in Induction of Labour – undertaking filming of women’s experiences of Induction of Labour. Engagement events for families were held at Manchester Art Gallery and the Whitworth Art Gallery. A consultation and engagement process was also started with Maternity Health Care Professionals to explore their experiences of the process and communication around Induction of Labour. Engagement with women, families and healthcare professionals is ongoing and will culminate in coproduced projects which will improve experiences of communication around Induction of Labour. During this period we continued to work in partnership with the University of Manchester, linking the University’s midwifery programme with GM MNVP chairs and VCSE partners to ensure service user representation on interview panels for prospective student midwives. We also presented to first year student midwives and students on the Universities MA leadership course on the work of the MNVPs and how they could be involved going forward in their careers. We also completed a project for Trafford Council which focussed on women who had experienced a pregnancy with a BMI over 35 and lived in Trafford. The project included an online survey, and several face to face listening events in Trafford. The final report is being used by Trafford Council to shape their services going forward under their Healthy Living Commissioner. Our Annual 15 Steps for Maternity (an observational walk around of maternity units facilitated by the MNVP Lead in each Trust) were also undertaken, this year’s were completed in partnership with Spoons and neonatal units were visited and incorporated into feedback and action plans for the Trust’s to take forward.