An appraisal of the East of England ‘sixty supportive steps to safety’ tool

Universally, maternity care is particularly susceptible to risk. In England, the safety of maternity services has been the subject of many recent enquiries, leading to media scrutiny and concerns regarding safe outcomes and positive maternity experiences. During 2020–2021, an increased number of maternity units in the East of England were placed on the national Maternity Safety Support Programme, indicating that enhanced regional support was necessary. To establish exactly what support was required, both as a region and for individual maternity units, a tool was developed and launched April 2021: the ‘sixty supportive steps to safety’. This framework was intended to provide support to maternity units, so that the maternity quadrumvirate, the local maternity and neonatal system, the trust board and the integrated care board could have confidence and assurance that their maternity services had identified any required areas of improvement. Completion of the framework also enabled units to complete the tool, as well as to showcase and share best practice across the region.