New families at the RUH’s antenatal and postnatal Mary Ward are being asked to give feedback about their care in a rather unconventional way – by graffiti.

A new ‘graffiti board’ has been put up in the ward’s day room, encouraging women and their families to share their thoughts and experiences or give suggestions about their maternity care.

Midwife and Investigation and Family Feedback Co-ordinator, Rachel Pass, said: “We already gather family feedback in a variety of ways – questionnaires, attending community groups and emails; but this is another and more informal and immediate way for people to jot down their passing thoughts.

“We welcome all feedback on what has worked for families, and ways that we can improve care. We’ve already listened to new mums, who told us their partners had nowhere to freshen up if they’d stayed overnight on the ward – so we’ve made shower facilities available for them.

“We are encouraging women and their families arriving on the ward to use the board and share their thoughts.

The graffiti board will be updated weekly, then all the information will be gathered and reviewed for us to see how we can further improve the services we offer and the family’s experience with us.”