About the project
This project aims to improve safety culture within the birth suite settings across Victoria through testing and implementing the Victorian Safety Culture Guide over a 12-month pilot program.
We want to create safer, more supportive environments for staff, and in doing so, achieve better outcomes for the women, babies and their families that maternity services care for. While the immediate focus of this work is on staff experience and culture, evidence shows that strong safety cultures lead to safer care.
The project will test and refine a change package for improving safety culture in birth suite with the longer-term aim of reducing adverse events for participating services. It is expected the insights gained from piloting this work can be further translated into other areas of healthcare.
Objectives
- Develop a change package aimed at improving safety culture in the birth suite setting
- Uplift the capability of Boards, CEOs, and Executives in measuring and monitoring safety culture in their health service.
- Test the effectiveness of the Victorian Safety Culture Guide.
- Improve staff experience and engagement to support enhancement of consumer experience.
Background
Safety culture is a lead indicator to monitor the prevention of harm and has been identified by key maternity stakeholders and in the 2020 CCOPMM report as an area for improvement in Victorian birth suites. With the release of our Victorian Safety Culture Guide, we can partner with services to test and refine the guide along with evidence from a literature review to improve safety culture in the birth suite.
Solution design
Through a 12-month pilot program, we will partner with 5 Victorian health services to test the Victorian Safety Culture Guide in the birth suite setting. A preliminary change package has been developed and will be further refined throughout the pilot.
The results of the pilot program will then inform how the improvement work is scaled and spread across the state from 2026 onwards.
How to get involved
For more information about the project, please email maternitynewborn@safercare.vic.gov.au.
Priority area
This project supports our broader effort to reduce avoidable harm and unnecessary variation in healthcare.