Here, Dr Mittal PReCePT Clinical Lead, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust talks about his role in PReCePT and his experiences of the programme so far. To find out more about PReCePT you can visit: www.healthinnovation-em.org.uk/our-work/innovations/precept
I am at present working as a Neonatal Consultant at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. I have over 18 years’ experience in paediatrics, and have completed five years of training in the UK which was mainly in neonatal intensive care.
I am currently Clinical Lead at the Trust for the PReCePT programme which aims to reduce the incidence of cerebral palsy by offering magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) to eligible women during preterm labour (less than 30 weeks). This role consists of working with various stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation and delivery of the project, to lead on training and communications for local teams and monitor uptake and cerebral palsy rates to determine outcomes.
Prior to taking on this role formally, I had lead the quality improvement audit in our unit in regards to the uptake of MgSO4 in eligible mothers. I found the topic very relevant to our day-to-day practise and when the Clinical Lead role came up, previous experiences of this audit attracted me to the position. Overall I found the audit challenging but rewarding. In order for uptake of MgSO4 to be successful you have to work in full collaboration with maternity teams to reinforce the benefits and how it can work operationally, which is what I have continued to do in my lead role for the PReCePT programme.
From the audit, I learnt different styles of leadership and when this post came about, I felt my past experience would be quite useful in achieving the aims and vision of this project. One of my main motivations was that it was such a cost effective way to provide excellent patient care.
In order for PReCePT to be successful and to increase uptake, it relies on good communication between the neonatal team, obstetrician and the midwife who is leading on this project. Our unit is very busy (on average our unit sees around 1,200 admissions every year including term and preterm admissions) and is a tertiary centre, as such patients here will get maximum benefit from this project.
We’ve had great successes with the project and over a six month period increased uptake of MgSO4 from 72% to 90% of eligible mothers. We achieved this with good communication to create awareness of the benefits of MgSO4 and also a number of different educational initiatives. Another key objective for us has been to make sure the data collection process is robust, so we can properly measure the benefits of the programme.
When speaking to parents about MgSO4, they are very positive especially when they hear of the benefits even at such a challenging time. Most parents’ biggest fear is that their baby might have developmental delays, so when they are told of the benefit of this medicine the response from the parents is quite affirmative and overwhelming.
I have had a positive experience of the PReCePT programme and the role over the last eight months. I am lucky to have a very supportive and cooperative team and have also found the team across the AHSN Network enthusiastic and actively involved, with the aim to make the project successful.
I found this project is a step forward towards providing a very cost effective good quality patient care by improving the long term outcomes and look forward to taking it even further forward in our region.
Author
Dr Mittal PReCePT Clinical Lead, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust