‘You’d get a lot more feedback if it was a more personal thing’. Facilitators and barriers to sharing feedback in the perinatal period: Perspectives of service users who have accessed perinatal services and maternal mental health service staff

The NHS collects large amounts of feedback through experience measures like the Friends and Family Test (FFT), however, can be misaligned to service user (SU) preference and low response rates can be an issue. Staff and SUs prefer more informal feedback methods; however, anonymity and safety can be challenges. The aim of this service evaluation was to better understand the issue of low feedback via the FFT, and to improve feedback received more broadly. This evaluation heard the perspectives of SUs with experiences of accessing perinatal services, and staff working in a newly commissioned Maternal Mental Health Service (MMHS). A total of nine participants who were members of Perinatal People’s Participation Involvement (PPI) and MMHS staff took part in three online focus groups. Thematic analysis was used to develop four main themes. ‘Context Matters’ and ‘Staff Attitudes and Perceptions of Feedback’ described by staff and ‘(Dis)connection’ and ‘Feeling Valued’ described by PPI members as facilitators and barriers to giving feedback during the perinatal period. Meaningful feedback was centred around connection and trust and personalised, intentional and active. Staff attitudes to different types of feedback were facilitators or barriers. Participatory approaches were strongly valued as future directions for feedback. Recommendations to consider for service improvement are provided which may improve feedback via the FFT and alternative feedback methods.