IFS Wales operates within a quality assurance framework that provides assurance to the Welsh Risk Pool and Welsh Government that the programme is delivered consistently and to a high standard across all NHS Wales Health Boards.

Quality assurance across IFS Wales is delivered through three mechanisms:

 

Quality Assurance and Sustainability Plan 

IFS Wales has evolved through a structured programme of implementation, evaluation and refinement as a national maternity safety initiative designed to improve the recognition, interpretation and escalation of intrapartum fetal surveillance concerns across Wales. The education programme serves as the primary vehicle through which these safety objectives are delivered

The Pilot Phase 

This was delivered between September 2023 and December 2024, focused on establishing a standardised national approach to intrapartum fetal surveillance across Wales. This phase enabled testing of programme content, faculty development processes, delivery models and implementation strategies across all Health Boards. Feedback from participants, facilitators and local leads, alongside emerging maternity safety intelligence and national recommendations, informed the development of Edition 2. 

Edition 2 (2025) 

focused on strengthening consistency, improving educational delivery and embedding key principles of physiological interpretation, escalation and multiprofessional communication. Evaluation demonstrated high levels of participant satisfaction and confidence, whilst also identifying opportunities to streamline content, increase interactivity and further integrate human factors and clinical decision making throughout the programme. 

Edition 3 (2026) 

represents the culmination of this iterative development process. The programme has transitioned towards a more integrated, case-based approach that reflects the realities of clinical practice. Content has been refined to reduce duplication, intrapartum auscultation has been embedded throughout relevant chapters, and greater emphasis has been placed on clinical reasoning, communication, escalation and the application of human factors principles. The development of Edition 3 was informed by participant feedback, quality improvement findings, national standards and learning from maternity safety reviews, investigations and claims. 

Following three years of progressive development and refinement, no major content revisions are planned for 2027. This decision reflects the need to allow Health Boards sufficient time to fully embed Edition 3, establish faculty confidence and consistency in delivery, and generate meaningful outcome and evaluation data before any further substantial programme changes are considered. 

Quality Assurance 

A formal Quality Assurance (QA) programme will commence from September 2026. The QA process will provide supportive review of programme delivery against the All Wales IFS Wales Standards, ensuring fidelity to the national training resources, consistency of facilitation, appropriate multiprofessional engagement and effective integration of human factors principles. Findings from QA visits will be used to identify areas of good practice, share learning across Wales and support continuous improvement where required. 

The Quality Assurance process will also provide assurance that the programme continues to deliver against its intended safety objectives, including the standardisation of practice, promotion of effective escalation, support for physiological interpretation and strengthening of multidisciplinary communication. 

Sustainability 

Sustainability will be supported through ongoing faculty development, maintenance of the national faculty database, monitoring of participation and compliance data, and continued engagement with Health Board representatives through the IFS Wales Representative Group. Regular communication with local faculty leads and heads of services will ensure emerging challenges, educational needs and service developments can be identified early and addressed collaboratively. Annual compliance reporting will continue to provide assurance that Health Boards are meeting the requirements of the All Wales IFS Wales Standards (2023) and maintaining workforce participation. 

The national team will continue to support faculty development and succession planning to ensure each Health Board maintains a sustainable multiprofessional faculty capable of delivering the programme to a consistently high standard. Continued engagement with Health Boards, Higher Education Institutions and national maternity stakeholders will support the long-term integration of IFS Wales within wider maternity safety and quality improvement work across NHS Wales. 

The national team will continue to monitor programme impact through participant feedback, quality assurance findings, compliance reporting and wider maternity safety intelligence, including learning arising from Welsh Risk Pool claims, national investigations, maternity safety reviews and emerging policy developments. This will ensure that IFS Wales remains responsive to emerging risks and continues to support safer intrapartum care and improved outcomes for women and babies across NHS Wales. 

Observational Programme Review

Structured visits are conducted by National Team members to observe training delivery in real settings. These assess fidelity to programme design, multiprofessional faculty composition, learning environment, quality of facilitation and integration of human factors. Formal observational QA reviews for IFS Wales are scheduled to commence Summer 2026 across all Health Boards. Reviews include immediate hot debriefs, written feedback to the Health Board and identification of good practice for wider sharing.

Annual Compliance Reporting

Health Boards report annually against the IFS Wales National Standards, including workforce identification, programme delivery, faculty composition and participation rates. These reports are reviewed by the Welsh Risk Pool Maternity and Neonatal Safety and Learning Programme Board.

Delegate and Facilitator Feedback

Pre and post training questionnaires are embedded into each training day using QR codes, capturing data aligned to the Kirkpatrick evaluation model. Facilitator surveys are also collected anonymously. The Second Edition of the programme was specifically structured to capture Kirkpatrick Stage 3 data, measuring the extent to which delegates apply their learning in practice.

Baseline clinical outcome data has been secured for term APGAR scores, term intrapartum stillbirth, early neonatal deaths and HIE grades 2 and 3, providing a foundation for long term outcome measurement.

 

 

IFS Wales sits alongside other national programmes funded by the Welsh Risk Pool, forming a coordinated national investment in workforce capability and the reduction of avoidable harm across the perinatal sector in Wales.

• PROMPT Wales: Practical Obstetric Multi Professional Training. Scenario based, multiprofessional training in obstetric emergencies and human factors. Established since 2018 and fully embedded across NHS Wales.
• Community PROMPT Wales: Extending the PROMPT Wales model to community settings, including Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) paramedics and ambulance technicians.
• MoNET Wales: Multiprofessional Neonatal Emergency Training, currently in pilot phase from January 2025.