The Perinatal Culture and Leadership Programme (PCLP) was established to support NHS maternity and neonatal teams in strengthening culture as a foundation for safer, more equitable care by noticing, understanding, valuing and taking action for lasting improvement.
Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley (HIOTV) was commissioned by NHS England to support delivery of PCLP in our region from 2024 to 2026. This work was led by Ania Scigala-Ali, Improvement Manager.
The programme brought together maternity and neonatal teams to build capability in culture and leadership, develop locally-owned improvement priorities informed by data, and test practical approaches to embedding behavioural change in everyday practice.
This included strengthening multidisciplinary team working, supporting the role of culture coaches as local change agents, using data to identify and prioritise areas for improvement, and introducing structured approaches like MOMENTS to enable reflection and learning in practice. The overall focus was on linking culture directly to safety and to the experiences of both patients and staff, building shared understanding and trust over time.
The programme helped strengthen collaboration within teams and created greater clarity around vision, leadership and delivery priorities. Improving safety and experience in perinatal services is not only about clinical knowledge or technical skill. It is about how teams function in real time – how concerns are noticed, interpreted and acted upon, and how people respond to one another in those moments.
Enabling action requires more than individual willingness. It requires systems that make it clear what to do, support people to do it, and respond constructively when they do. Leadership plays a critical role – not only in setting expectations, but in shaping the conditions that make action possible.
When insight is not followed by action, frustration grows. When action is enabled, trust grows – and with it, the capacity for continuous improvement.
One Director of Midwifery in our region said: “It’s been a real pleasure having you involved as a fresh pair of eyes on the project – your insight has genuinely helped us see things from a different perspective. I also want to acknowledge the invaluable mentorship you have provided to a member of staff and the wider team of culture champions. Your guidance has made a real difference.”
While the formal commission has ended, the real work – embedding and sustaining these changes – continues within local teams and our Maternity and Neonatal Safety Improvement Programme. Perinatal culture and leadership principles underpin our 2026/27 Maternity and Neonatal Safety Improvement Programme which focuses on two main areas: optimising and stabilising preterm infants, and early recognition and management of deterioration of women and babies.
Resources
- More information for MOMENTS: https://moments-safety.com/
- NHS Futures community of practice for culture coaches: NHS Future Local Transformation Hub (registration required)
Further information: ania.scigala-ali@healthinnovationoxford.org