Stillbirth
Characteristics of serious incident management team (SIMT) reviews in maternity units
A survey of 19 maternity units regarding perinatal death reviews that are conducted under the Serious Incident Management Team (SIMT) structure demonstrated that reviews are not standardised or consistent and parent involvement in the process could be improved.
- Authors
Emily O'Connor, Änne Helps, Keelin O'Donoghue, Sara Leitao
- Year
- 2025
- Journal Name
- Irish Medical Journal
- Category
- Journal Article
- Keywords
- Audit / Service evaluation, Neonatal death, Perinatal mortality, Stillbirth
- Project
- Full Citation
O'Connor E, Helps A, Greene R, O'Donoghue K, Leitao S. Characteristics of serious incident management team (SIMT) reviews in maternity units. Irish Medical Journal. 2025;118(5):P72. https://imj.ie/characteristics-of-serious-incident-management-team-simt-reviews-in-maternity-units/.
- Link to Publication
- https://imj.ie/characteristics-of-serious-incident-management-team-simt-reviews-in-maternity-units/
Abstract
Perinatal deaths include babies who are stillborn or who die as young infants (neonates). We looked at how unexpected baby deaths are investigated in Irish maternity units. A perinatal death review team is composed of senior-level doctors, midwives and risk managers and is called Serious Incident Management Team (SIMT). We sent an electronic survey to 19 maternity units asking questions about their SIMT reviews for perinatal deaths in 2019 and again in 2023. 17 units responded. There was no consistency between the units for the types of perinatal deaths that are reviewed or for how long a review should take. Many units reported varying timeframes for reviews to be completed. Parents were not regularly informed about the review process, and this did not improve significantly between 2019 and 2023. Having a national review system that is the same in each maternity unit would encourage perinatal death reviews that are equal and clearer for parents involved. Delays in reviews taking place can result in long wait times for parents and may prevent learning from what happened in each unit.