3.5 Making Local Maternity System (LMS), regional and national connections

Maternity Voices Partnership (MVP) chairs across your LMS will work closely together and the LMS MVP link will be able to share information about how this works.

Your MVP Chair’s main contact at regional level is the NHS England and Improvement (NHSEI) regional service user voice rep. Your NHSEI regional team will be able to put you in contact with the rep for your region. Your regional service user voice rep will facilitate networking between MVP chairs across the region and also represent service user voice at the regional NHSEI maternity and neonatal board.  In turn, these regional boards report to the national Maternity Transformation Programme Board.

National Maternity Voices (NMV) is the national association of MVP chairs. You can get your MVP listed on NMV’s map (scroll down on that page to find the request form). If you include contact details for your MVP chair then NMV will make contact with them and let them know about support and resources available.

NMV will invite new chairs to join the Local Maternity Transformation Workspace (also known as the “Hub”) on NHS Futures. This is a place for NHS staff and service users involved in maternity transformation to share resources and exchange ideas. Existing chairs can request an invitation to the workspace from NMV.

NMV runs the following Facebook Groups to enable MVP members to network and share ideas:

Black, Asian and ethnic minority MVP Chairs have come together to form the Nova Network, a WhatsApp peer support group, supported by National Maternity Voices. Any black, Asian or ethnic minority MVP chairs or service user reps can join the Nova Network. To join, or for more information, email Toyin Adeyinka at novanetwork@nationalmaternityvoices.org.uk