BBC analysis of official statistics has shown that more than half of maternity units in England fail consistently to meet safety standards.
7% of units are rated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as posing a high risk of avoidable harm, whilst a further 48% require improvement.
Despite several attempts to improve and transform maternity care, the CQC says the pace of improvement has been disappointing.
The BBC analysis of the most recent CQC safety ratings, which were published this month, for 137 maternity units in England found:
- Nine units were given the lowest possible rating of inadequate for safety, meaning that urgent action is required.
- 66 units required improvement to reduce risk to mothers and babies, and to ensure legal requirements on safety were met.
- None were given the top rating of ‘outstanding’.
Director of Secondary Care at the CQC, Victoria Vallance, said:
“We are worried. We are concerned. We have not seen the pace of improvement consistently, nationally, that we would hope and expect to see across maternity services.”
These worrying figures follow a series of serious safety scandals at maternity units in England.
Morecambe Bay, Shrewsbury, and Telford have been investigated. A review into problems in Nottingham has started, and East Kent is expected to report back soon.
Gill Walton, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives, was reported as saying that there is an “ongoing crisis in maternity services” and that more funds are needed urgently.
The NHS in England needs almost 500 obstetricians and 2,000 more midwives.
The Jessop Wing in Sheffield has an overall CQC rating of inadequate for maternity services.
Some of the maternity services currently rated as requiring improvement by the CQC include:
- Ludlow Community Hospital
- Blackpool Victoria Hospital
- The Princess Royal Hospital in Shropshire
Comment
In recent years, the risks to mothers and babies during pregnancy and in the postnatal period have been the subject of many inquiries and reviews and it is clear that maternity services are in a time of crisis in England.
Pregnancy and delivery should be a happy and exciting time for expectant parents, without the stress and worry of whether the maternity service your care falls under is performing to the levels of safety that ought to be expected.
Following the recent maternity scandals, trust and confidence in maternity services will be at an all-time low, and these latest figures are worrying, to say the least.
Whilst the public scrutiny some services are now facing is likely to result in a host of promises of improvements and changes being made, it is clearly vital that maternity services are top of the agenda and there is no room for further error.
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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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