Maternity

The Maternity staffing level tool is part of a suite of tools. These are available to help NHS Scotland services plan the number of staff they need.


The tool

This tool is used in both hospital and community maternity services across Scotland. It explores the time and complexity of midwifery care.

The Maternity tool provides information and a rWTE (recommended whole time equivalent) for staffing based on the data entered.

The tool covers the following areas of care:

  • antenatal ward
  • postnatal ward
  • labour suite
  • clinics
  • triage
  • community

The work is classified into areas of risk. These are:

  • vulnerability
  • social
  • obstetric and medical
  • anaesthetic

That risk determines level of care and support required. The predefined levels of care range from routine care to 1:1 care dependent. The scores increase as the demand on midwifery time increases.

How to use this tool

The current national recommendation is to run the tools for a two-week period, at least once per year.

Use this tool alongside the Professional judgement (PJ) tool.

The outputs from these tools can be used as part of the Common Staffing Method, to inform safe and effective staffing for your service.

The following video guides and documents provide information on completing this tool. 

They provide detailed information from how to log in to how to gather and submit data.

Resources to support you

ResourceSourceWhat it is and what it is for
ResourceSource
Healthcare Improvement Scotland
What it is and what it is for
Step by step guide to background of the maternity tool and data collection
ResourceSource
Healthcare Improvement Scotland
What it is and what it is for
Step by step guide to uploading data onto SSTS platform
ResourceSource
Healthcare Improvement Scotland
What it is and what it is for
User guide on using the maternity staffing level tool
ResourceSource
Healthcare Improvement Scotland
What it is and what it is for
Template to record data
ResourceSource
Healthcare Improvement Scotland
What it is and what it is for
Template to record data for any triage calls
ResourceSource
Healthcare Improvement Scotland
What it is and what it is for
Template to record data for travel
ResourceSource
TURAS
What it is and what it is for
A variety of learning resources to support understanding workload and workforce planning and the application of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019.
ResourceSource
Healthcare Improvement Scotland
What it is and what it is for
Printable checklist to aid tool run preparation and delivery
ResourceSource
NHS Lanarkshire
What it is and what it is for
Example of reporting template which looks at each component of the CSM