A system-wide rollout written into a maternity equity strategy
North east London maternity services care for more than 26,000 families a year, in a population where over 250 languages are spoken besides English. The ICS built communication support into its maternity Equity and Equality strategy rather than treating it as a separate procurement.
North East London Health and Care Partnership
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26,000+
Families cared for each year across the system
North east London maternity services
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250+
Languages spoken besides English
Across the ICS population
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3 Trusts
Given autonomy to roll out at their own sites
Barking Havering and Redbridge, Barts Health, Homerton
The situation
North east London has one of the highest birth rates in the UK, over 250 languages spoken besides English, and more than half the population identifying as Black, Asian or from an ethnic minority background. The ICS identified language barriers as a risk to the quality of maternity care specifically.
How it was commissioned
The ICS did not buy a tool and then look for a use for it. Communication support was written into the delivery plan of its maternity Equity and Equality strategy, with four stated aims: support families through their care, make care more personal, improve safety, and use interpreting budgets better.
What made the rollout fast
The ICS contracted centrally but gave each Trust autonomy over deployment at its own sites. Maternity services across the system had it available within weeks. The first focus was perinatal pelvic health – people needing extra specialist care during or after pregnancy, including those facing a language barrier and those with learning difficulties, deafness or blindness.
What the system found afterwards
Commissioned to address language, it was then used for communication needs beyond language: British Sign Language for d/Deaf service users, and Easy Read and Read Aloud for learning difficulties or visual impairment. The ICS is now considering how the same approach might support other acute services.
“Deploying CardMedic is helping us to bridge gaps in service provision and deliver more equitable maternity services. It gives our service users the opportunity to play an active role in their care and supports clinicians to deliver more equitable care, irrespective of patients’ language or background.”
How to read this
This describes how a system commissioned and deployed communication support, and what it observed. No independent evaluation was carried out and no outcome measures are claimed. The population figures describe north east London, not our usage.