Lucy Potter who is the chair for the Maternity Voices Partnership (MVP) has been busy spreading the word of the positive partnerships between service users and the midwives at LGI and at James’s Hospitals. The MVP helps to gather feedback and implement this to help improve the experience of people who use maternity services. As part of the Maternity Transformation Plan the MVP sits inside the Local Maternity Plan for West Yorkshire and Harrogate which includes 8 MVPs chairs who meet every two months to help collaborate and share ideas including co producing the event which was held on Friday 22nd March in York. Lucy along with midwife Sarah Bennett delivered their presentation about how the MVPs have helped to feed into the plan from a grassroots level by co-producing a booklet on Birthing Choices in the region. This presentation was brought to life by illustrator Tom Bailey.

Following this Sue Gibson Head of Midwifery at the Leeds Hospital Trust was invited down to the NHS Maternity and Neonatal Quality Improvement event held at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre on Monday 25 March 2019. This time Sue had been invited to present on the positive working Partnership with maternity service users and Lucy who helps represent service user Voices for Leeds had been invited too. Standing in a room packed with over 400 delegates Sue and Lucy talked about on the MVP’s work with the hospital regarding the monthly Walking the Patch where volunteers get to meet families and speak with staff. This is reflective of the recent national quality report where Leeds received an improved score compared with other national average in maternity settings.