More than a spinal: The anaesthetist’s impact on safety, trust and patient experience in planned caesarean birth

Sarah Hudson, Katy Oliver, Annika Smith & Sally Shiels

Oxford Univeristy Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Background: 

UK Maternity services are under intense scrutiny with a barrage of negative press. While learning from mistakes is crucial, we must also consider  learning from what works.1 Patient experience is a core component of high-quality maternity care in national policy.2 So what do our patients say?

 Aim:

To identify key drivers of patient experience in planned caesarean birth

Method:

Propective clinical service evaluation with anonymous survey sent to all patients.

88 out of 163 patients responded, average rating for the service was 4.9 out of 5 star

1 in 3 patients explicitly mentioned the anaesthetic team as a positive part of their experience. 

Patient priorities closely align with national safety frameworks: communication, compassion, senior leadership and teamwork. Dual role of the anaesthetist

These findings reinforce the anaesthetists contribution beyond technical expertise: custodians of emotional & physical safety.

What should we do differently?