Analysing parent feedback

Collecting reliable feedback on midwifery care experiences from new parents is challenging and analysis of the data is costly. This article described the challenges and opportunities faced by midwifery units in obtaining quality, timely and actionable feedback on maternity care from new parents, with a focus on a potential solution using automated data collection and AI-enabled analysis. Experiences from the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust are drawn on to illustrate the uses of this method.

There are many reasons why a parent might withhold the reality of their midwifery care experience from maternity services. During pregnancy, expectant parents will be concentrating on preparing for a positive birth experience and there is anecdotal evidence to show they may ‘vote with their feet’ by choosing a different midwifery unit, rather than share their preferences or recent care experiences after being discharged.

At the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust's midwifery unit, obtaining high-quality information from new parents on their care experience can be a challenge. New parents are always encouraged to complete surveys during their pregnancy and when they are discharged home after the birth of their baby, so the service can understand their experience and pinpoint areas to improve. While important feedback is received using these surveys, the response rate is fairly low according to internal records, so it is likely that they do not provide the fullest picture.