30. Alison Wright - personalised maternity care. Opportunities and challenges.

Today I am talking to a ‘Fab Obs’. #FabObs is the hashtag  we use in our #MatExp social movement - an obstetrician who ‘gets it’. Listening to what matters to women. Finding ways to prioritise, obviously, the safety of mother and baby, but really listening to women – and indeed helping them tease out the choices and  birth options. And today that #FabObs is Alison Wright. Alison is the immediate past Vice-president of the RCOG  (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists) – a big advocate for the RCOG women’s network, embedding women’s voices into every aspect of the college‘s work. Forward-thinking and exciting. Alison has led the development of ‘I decide’ - a tool enabling women  to think through choices and decisions in labour.As well as being a  champion of maternity experience, Alison is also ‘just’ an everyday ‘Obs and gynae’ doctor.Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋LISTENING to women and families throughout their birth journeys and pregnancyProviding personalised care in maternity services, in times of staffing pressures and recruitment difficultiesPersonalised care means different things to different peopleTeasing out what matters to you -  #WMTYBeing honest with women, sharing  information about difficult topics eg anal sphincter tearsLargely, women want to know what might happen. Don’t assume  they don’tInformation is key! It gives  controllCreative methods useful for sharing information and breaking down barriers to engagementTim Draycott’s innovative work on the Odan device‘I decide’? -  a clever acronym - check it out! Nadine Montgomery ruling re informed consentShoutout for Florence Wilcock, champion of personalised care; co- founder of #MatExp Involving Maternity Voices Partnerships and NHS Resolution in teasing out the futureShould we be looking to solve problems in the short or  long term?The RCOG Women’s Network is influentialPerceived tensions between what women want and what clinicians want. Actually, we all want the same thing!Shadowing other healthcare professionals is really useful -  (mutual) shadowing an antenatal teacher#NoHierarchyJustPeople is a key #MatExp mantraBlue light - the Obs Pod Emergency!Family Integrated Care - new #WhoseShoes work 😀Let’s encourage all obstetricians to get involved! To have a seat at the table!Ask the obstetrician 🍋💡🍋Relationships matter. Form a relationship with your obstetricianPeople don’t like the unexpected - easier to deal with if you know what might happen“If you start being a patient advocate, you ’ll never have a career in medicine!“⏩ Huge shift in thinking! Bring together the patient experience and the clinician’s experience through coproductionImportant not to swing too far  ⏩ everyone has choice, do whatever you like! 😬No dumping! Healthcare professionals need to accept responsibility, to steer choice sensiblyInformed choice. But make it realistic. What would you do in my position?Clinicians have responsibility toWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care.