Annette Anderson

Midwife & Head of Early Notification Clinical Team at NHS Resolution, United Kingdom

Title: The Early Notification Scheme an initiative in England set up to resolve obstetric brain injury claims earlier

Abstract

The National Health Service (NHS) remains one of the safest healthcare systems in the world to give birth, however in some situations avoidable harm can occur which has a lifelong effect on the baby, family and wider support network, as well as affecting the clinical staff involved in the incident.

The Early Notification (EN) Scheme is the flagship scheme of NHS Resolution, who are responsible for handling claims across the NHS in England. The scheme was set up in April 2017 to address the rising costs of maternity claims;

In 2021/2022, there were 1,243 Obstetric claims, which account for 12% of the overall volume of clinical negligence claims reported into NHS Resolution. The value of Obstetric claims however, equated to 62% of the claims received.

As well as seeking to address the cost of claims, the EN scheme provides an opportunity to improve the claims process where a baby has a brain injury arising from problems with management of intrapartum care. By reducing the time from the incident to the claim being resolved, it provides an opportunity to support families by considering their eligibility for compensation sooner, support the staff involved in the incident, as well as share learning from the claims when vital learning is still relevant to clinical practice.

The EN team have published two key reports, which have highlighted valuable learning that has been shared across maternity services, and also informed and influenced policy development/change at a national level. Examples of this include using incident/claims data to highlight the issues with the management of impacted fetal head at caesarean section, as well as identifying issues with neonatal resuscitation following birth; both areas have been taken forward at a national level to improve the response.

Now in its sixth year, there are plans to evaluate the EN scheme.

Biography

Annette Anderson is a senior Midwife who has worked in the NHS in England since 2002. She has extensive experience in clinical midwifery/maternity and patient safety. As well as a professional midwifery qualification, Annette also holds a Capsticks Diploma in Clinical Risk and Claims Management, and Masters qualification in Risk from the University of Leicester. Her dissertation focused on sharing learning from serious incident investigations across four maternity services in London.

Annette was appointed Head of the Early Notification Clinical team in June 2019; her role involves providing clinical leadership and strategic direction to the midwives, obstetricians and neonatologists working in the EN Team. As well as working with other national NHS organisations to drive improvements across maternity services, with the overall aim of reducing the incidence of maternal and neonatal deaths, neonatal brain injuries, and stillbirths.

Annette is passionate about improving safety in maternity services, and improving the claims experience for families and staff.

3rd International Conference on Midwifery and Neonatal Care

Annette Anderson

Title: The Early Notification Scheme an initiative in England set up to resolve obstetric brain injury claims earlier

Abstract

Biography

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