The Avoiding Brain Injuries in Childbirth (ABC) programme is designed to help maternity staff rapidly respond to emergencies and protect mothers and babies.

Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘This vital programme will give staff across the country the right tools and training to deliver better care to women and their babies, reducing the devastating impact of avoidable brain injury.'

The national rollout, which will launch in September, follows a pilot in 12 maternity units in October delivered by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Royal College of Midwives and the THIS (The Healthcare Improvement Studies) Institute.

The programme is designed to close a gap in training by bringing multidisciplinary teams together to work more collaboratively than before to improve outcomes.

It is expected to reduce unacceptable inequalities in maternity outcomes across England so that most maternity units achieve outcomes are comparable to the highest-performing 20% of trusts. 

Ranee Thakar, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), said: ‘The ABC programme supports multidisciplinary maternity teams to deliver safer, more personalised care. Hundreds of maternity staff, including obstetricians, midwives and anaesthetists, have been involved in developing and testing this quality improvement programme.

‘We have heard what a difference it makes, supporting teams to work effectively together in time-sensitive and high-pressure situations. The RCOG is extremely proud to have been part of this fantastic collaboration.'