Assessing women with symptoms of threatened preterm labour: a service proposal

Abstract

Approximately 8% of all UK births occur preterm, resulting in increased neonatal mortality and significant disability, while causing a financial burden for the NHS. This proposal outlines how an app could be incorporated into the assessment of women presenting with symptoms of threatened preterm labour, to assist with early recognition and optimise neonatal outcomes. Lewin's change model was used to plan this service improvement and a planning triangle and action planning tool were used to assist with implementation and stakeholder engagement. Data from the trust show that implementation of the app could decrease admissions and reduce unnecessary interventions, providing a significant cost saving for the trust. This proposal also reviewed the leadership skills required for staff engagement. Pre-change data demonstrate that implementation of this app could have potentially improved the care of 89 women in the trust in one year.