Is our post-natal debrief clinic offering adequate care to ensure patient satisfaction?

ABSTRACT

Quality Improvement project on postnatal debrief clinic Objective: To evaluate the post-natal debrief clinic service in the Princess of Wales Hospital (Cwm Taf). Design: This project was a service evaluation, which involved the collection of quantitative and qualitative data. The use of multi-modal data was beneficial, as it provided an objective measure of the outcomes of the clinic, whilst also allowing patients to voice their subjective opinions. Additionally, this study design was adopted as it facilitated the measurement of the service without the need for comparison to a universal standard for post-natal debrief, which doesn't exist. Method: Data was manually extracted from clinic letters and quality of the clinic was assessed through patient feedback forms. A total of 84 patient's outcomes and 53 feedback forms were reviewed. The clinic was compared with national guidelines and services. 20 patients' feedback was collected separately to gauge opinions on telephone clinic (introduced since the start of the COVID pandemic) and face-to- face appointments. Patients were interviewed during this research to gain an individual understanding of the challenges posed to women after traumatic birth experiences. Results: Notable risk factors for attending debrief clinic were identified, such as induction of labour and emergency caesarean section. The majority of patients (67%) seen in the debrief clinic were discharged back to GP care and required no further mental health support. Feedback overwhelmingly shows good satisfaction, with patients highlighting the caring and honest staff who provided clear explanations of labour events and reassurance for future pregnancies. Some areas were identified that may require improvement, such as admin support, referrals and waiting times. Many patients noted all mothers should be offered this service. Comparisons indicate that the clinic is exceeding most peer-led services and national guidelines. 60% of patients felt they preferred telephone over face-to- face appointments. Conclusion: Traumatic birth experiences are relatively common. It is vital to review the debrief services available to patients following these experiences. The clinic has been constantly evolving since its inception, to meet the needs of the patients it cares for and will continue to do so in the future. This service evaluation shows the clinic is providing an excellent level of care, however further evaluations needed in future as we recently introduced offering the debrief service to all the postnatal patients.