Thank you for wanting to find out more about the 15 steps and the Maternity and Neonatal National Assurance Assessment.
It could be that you have seen one of 15 steps posters or it could be that you have been told a small assessment team will be visiting your workplace soon.
Firstly, please be assured the 15 steps site visits workstream of the national assurance assessment is not an inspection. It is about experiences.
Please have a look through our frequently asked questions. If you do not feel we answer your question please do not hesitate to contact us through our dedicated staff email address below.
The 15 Steps workstream is part of the national assurance assessment.
It’s a way to gather qualitative insights into how services feel to those who use them.
We are using a modified 15 Steps approach, a well-established approach that helps us understand what good quality care looks and feels like from the very first impression by visiting maternity and neonatal services across NHS Wales.
It’s not an inspection, but rather a way to observe and reflect on how services are experienced by women, parents, families, as well as staff working within maternity and neonatal services. The focus is on what people see, hear, and feel when they first walk into a service, and how that sets the tone for their overall experience.
If you are on shift, you may see small team/s including women, parents and families, clinicians (who do not work at your site) and an independent panel member or representative.
They will spend a short time in different areas of the services, depending what is on site (e.g. antenatal clinics, labour wards, neonatal units).
They will observe, reflect, and share what they see, hear, and feel.
Their feedback will be captured and used to inform the national assurance report.
We cannot emphasise enough these visits are not inspections.
They are designed to be respectful, collaborative and supportive and the findings will contribute towards the national assurance assessment and inform future service development.
None of the women, parents or families will have been used your services at your site. It may be for example, they attended another hospital in your health board, but it will not have been yours.
These visits are designed to be respectful, collaborative, and supportive.
Staff may be observed, but the focus is on the environment and experience, not individual performance.
Please remember that you can add your voice to the assessment by taking part in ‘your space to be heard’. In the staff experience workstream you may take part in on-site workshops, have a one-to-one with the staff workstream lead or you can use our confidential email inbox. You will find more information about how you can get involved in the Your Space to be heard section on this website.