References
A novel maternity clinical supervision service: overview and outcomes
Abstract
Background/Aims
Stress can lead to low work satisfaction and increased burnout, sickness/absence and staff turnover. A midwifery clinical supervision service was developed by two senior clinical psychologists and piloted. It aimed to offer clinical supervision and staff support to specialist groups of midwives.
Methods
Questionnaires were completed by 47 staff who attended the pilot service, assessing their experiences and psychological outcome measures at the first and last sessions. Paired sample two‑tailed t‑tests were used to test for differences between baseline and follow‑up scores for wellbeing measures. Thematic analysis was used for qualitative data.
Results
Overall satisfaction was high, and attending multiple sessions significantly improved overall emotional wellbeing. Burnout was significantly lower, and there was a reduction in traumatic stress symptoms and improved rates of compassionate satisfaction.
Conclusions
Midwives and staff in maternity services value and benefit significantly from psychological support and specialist clinical supervision.
Implications for practice
Clinical supervision and staff support models should be provided in maternity services. This will directly impact the quality of care that staff provide.
Colleagues working in maternity services across the UK have experienced a range of challenging events over recent years, with implications for clinical governance and patient safety. This has had a significant impact on midwives, with the Royal College of Midwives (RCM, 2023) describing the current climate as a ‘midwifery workforce crisis’. Such challenges for maternity services are also reflected in the Ockenden (2022) report, and have been exacerbated by the pandemic, workforce shortages and the current cost of living crisis. National reports have published data from midwives stating that they feel exhausted, demoralised, unsupported and undervalued (RCM, 2023).
In addition to the challenging political and workforce climate for midwives, they are also at risk of exposure to traumatic situations at work, including exposure to patient death or near-death and other traumatic clinical adverse events. Midwives may be exposed to traumatic responses from those they are caring for (Leinweber and Rowe, 2010; Rice and Warland, 2013). The risk of moral injury is high, given the levels of pain and discomfort that some women and birthing people may experience to safely deliver their babies. Furthermore, midwives are required to hold a lot of uncertainty regarding clinical outcomes for the birthing person and their babies, especially for those with high-risk pregnancies.
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