The BBC has reported that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has issued a warning notice to Leicester’s NHS hospitals after it rated two maternity hospitals ‘inadequate’.
The CQC carried out an inspection at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust maternity services earlier this year to assess whether they were well-led by managers and safe for mothers and babies.
CQC findings?
Inspectors found that care had deteriorated at the units at Leicester Royal Infirmary and Leicester General Hospitals.
In particular, safety was highlighted as a concern for inspectors. They rated this as ‘inadequate’, which is the lowest possible rating from the CQC.
Deputy Director of Secondary and Specialist Healthcare at the CQC, Carolyn Jenkinson, said:
“When we inspected maternity services at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, we observed a deterioration in the level of care being provided to women, people using the service and their babies.
“Both services were regularly understaffed, which placed people and their babies at risk. It also meant staff weren’t always able to take their breaks, which affected their well-being, morale, and ability to do their job.”
The inspectors also found that some people had experienced delays in their care of up to six hours as doctors were not available. This resulted in people discharging themselves.
The CQC’s report also highlighted issues with cleanliness and the age of some equipment used on the units.
What does the Trust need to do now?
Julie Hogg, Chief Nurse at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust said:
“Improving maternity services is a key priority and many of the highlighted challenges had already been identified before the inspection with plans in place to tackle them. However, we take the report and its findings incredibly seriously and are using them to drive further improvements for women and birthing people.
“While we know there is more to do, we are committed to providing safe, high-quality and compassionate care…”
The Trust must now act on the report and make improvements urgently.
It says that plans to replace a birthing centre in Melton with a new site in Leicester will be a significant help in improving services.
A £450m project will bring all of Leicestershire and Rutland’s maternity services into the city with a new maternity hospital and a midwife-led unit at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, and a midwifery-led birthing unit at Leicester General Hospital.
Comment
The CQC’s findings at Leicester’s maternity services are very concerning.
Unfortunately, as we know, maternity services across the country are under intense scrutiny and failures are being found at multiple hospitals.
Leicester Hospitals are the latest in a long line of maternity services where CQC inspections have found multiple problems that are significant enough to be putting patients at risk.
What is clear is that there are considerable issues within Leicester’s maternity services with staffing, meaning that the staff who are working are under incredible pressure and cannot cope with demand. Waits of up to six hours for care in maternity services, issues with cleanliness, and problems with equipment are a recipe for disaster.
Maternity clinical negligence claims
The sad reality is that the failings in maternity services at present are putting people at risk of injury and even death.
If this were to happen as a result of substandard care, you may well be entitled to claim compensation for clinical negligence.
If this has happened to you, it is imperative that you seek specialist legal advice.
At Nelsons, our experienced team of medical negligence solicitors investigate and successfully pursue birth injury claims for children and mothers injured during childbirth.
Our expert team is recognised by The Law Society, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), Headway, The Foundation for Infant Loss Training, Chambers and Partners, and The Legal 500 for our work involving injured babies and children. We are one of a few specialist firms that are still able to offer Legal Aid in cases involving babies.
How can we help?
Danielle Young is a Legal Director in our Medical Negligence team, which has been ranked in tier one by the independently researched publication, The Legal 500.
If you have any questions in relation to the subjects discussed in this article, then please get in touch with Danielle or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.
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