Barnsley Maternity Neonatal Voices Partnership

Barnsley Maternity Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP) is under the association of National Maternity Voices which supports the co-production of maternity and neonatal services with service users. 

Barnsley MNVP is mainly a team of service users, that are dedicated to hearing the voices of service users and strengthening the link between the voices of Barnsley service users and Barnsley Maternity services to support making positive changes for Barnsley Maternity Services. 

The partnership is also an association of independent lay leaders, stakeholders and services such as:

• Barnsley Service user representatives
• Barnsley Maternity Services
• Barnsley Neonatal Services
• Integrated Care Board (ICB)
• Local Maternity Neonatal System (LMNS)
• Barnsley Council Family Hubs
• 0-19 Barnsley Public Health Service
• Independent charities and service providers
• Grassroot charities and service providers

Barnsley MNVP brings together the voices and experiences of pregnant and birthing service users, maternity and neonatal staff, stakeholders and plan and review opportunities to improve the care and services provided, this is mostly facilitated through meetings, service users are very welcome to join these meetings.

Our main meeting principles are:

• Working together, each sharing our ideas, and identifying solutions for the design and improvement of maternity care is called co-production.
• All members are committed to working in partnership and to implementing care that is centred around the individual needs of service users and ensuring everyone has access to the same quality of care, regardless of their background.
• We listen to the voice of service users and discuss how we can overcome challenges to make positive changes within maternity care.
• The MNVP serves the needs of local women, birthing people and their families, and the Local Maternity & Neonatal System (LMNS). It links with clinical networks, to contribute towards and follow regional strategic direction, and links with other MNVPs within the LMNS to share good practice.

Barnsley MNVP brings together the voices and experiences of pregnant and birthing service users, maternity and neonatal staff, stakeholders and plan and review opportunities to improve the care and services provided.

“Service users are at the heart of all we do and their journeys and experiences shape the future of maternity and neonatal services. We support Barnsley Maternity and Neonatal services to hear the voices of pregnant and birthing service users, but we do not speak for them. We empower service users to share their own journey and experiences and give them the opportunity to share what they feel would have made their experience better or what was positive about their experience and can be replicated in all areas of practice”

Natalie and Kathryn

You can be involved with Barnsley MNVP through sharing your feedback, story and journey with us. We always feel privileged to hear the voices of Barnsley service users and appreciate the time and courage it can take to share your story. 

You can send an email to barnsley.mvp@nhs.net or send a direct message of your feedback to our Facebook page, or we can facilitate a phone call with you. We also attend community events and groups where you can share your experiences face to face.

What is a service user representative?

We also have amazing service user representatives that are a part of our Barnsley MNVP. A service user representative uses their own experience and perspective as a local service users to connect with other parents and support MNVP to hear voices from a wide variety of people. 

The main role of a service user representative is to use their expertise in using maternity and neonatal services to make sure their perspective is being represented. They may do this by attending meetings, 15 steps visits and supporting to review maternity and neonatal materials. 

We could not complete the work we do without service user representatives. They are instrumental and extremely value to the work of Barnsley Maternity Neonatal Voices Partnership. 

Becoming a service user representative volunteer

This is an un-paid voluntary role, and a service user representative uses their own experience and perspective as a local service users to connect with other parents and support MNVP to hear voices from a wide variety of people. 

The main role of a service user representative is to use their expertise in using maternity and neonatal services to make sure their perspective is being represented through meetings, visits or commenting on documents. Any expenses you incur when attending MNVP meetings e.g. for travel and parking, will normally be reimbursed.

Please contact us if you are interested in becoming a service user representative and we can arrange a phone call to discuss the role further.

What is the 15 Steps Visit?

15 steps visits are based on teamworking in the MNVP as the people attending the visit, should work as a team and be made up of maternity/neonatal staff and service users and stakeholders within the partnership. 

A 15 steps visit explores the attending service user’s first impressions of care, their surroundings and the overall experience across their maternity and neonatal journey, they will use the Observation Guides as a prompt. 

The initial thoughts of the service users are provided to the staff member responsible for the setting and then a report is later produced, and findings are shared, discussed and actions are agreed upon with the whole team.

Opportunities to attend a 15 steps visit are mostly promoted on our Barnsley Maternity Neonatal Voices Partnership social media pages but please get in touch via email – if you would like to show interest for future visits. 

Joining our community – come along to our events!

We host play and chat events, buggy walks and community events, please keep checking our social media pages or contact us if you would like to attend any future events.