21 June 2021

The Trust that runs maternity services for women in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid Wales has created a new User Experience card system to ensure women and their families are listened to and that their voices are heard.

Working with The Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin Maternity Voices Partnership (MVP), The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), is asking recent maternity services users, support partners and maternity staff to complete User Experience (UX) cards. UX cards are a simple way to provide feedback, to capture their needs and to explain how they think these needs could be met.

Each person who submits a UX card will be invited to an online workshop where they will be joined by SaTH midwives, nurses and members of the Maternity Transformation team. The workshop will allow open discussion of each UX Card and an opportunity to provide feedback so that the Trust can gather a clear understanding, in real time, of people’s experiences and needs. This will allow for the planning and prioritisation of changes that will benefit the experience of every individual who uses its maternity services.

The first UX card theme is ‘partners’ experiences’ and asks service users to talk about what the Trust is doing well and where things could be improved. Future themes will include:

  • Language and communication
  • Respected and supported decision-making
  • Continuity of Care
  • Speciality services
  • Managing expectations
  • Neonatal experiences
  • Bereavement

If you are a maternity services user (past or present), support partner, member of maternity services staff at SaTH, or doula, you can complete a UX card by clicking here. The deadline for submissions for the first card is 5pm on Friday 25 June.

Hayley Flavell, Director of Nursing at SaTH, said: “This brilliant and innovative piece work will bring together staff from our Trust with service users and members of our local MVP to promote real and meaningful positive change to our maternity services, driven by those whose voices matter the most”.

Emily Evans, Service User Chair at the Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin MVP, said: “The MVP is delighted to be a part of this work. It truly puts the service user at the heart of future developments and improvements in maternity services.”

Amo Padda, a service-user from Telford whose wife, Sharandeep gave birth to their son at SaTH, said: “My son named Ishar was born at PRH in March 2021. I think the new card/questionnaire system is a positive step forward. It is easily accessible and anyone’s experience can be shared. By answering the open ended questions, we have the scope to give detail. I think this will act as a very useful aid if any changes need to be implemented”.