The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has reported that following inspections of Poole Hospital’s maternity service, improvement is needed as the service is currently inadequate.
Inspections took place as part of the CQC’s national maternity services inspection programme. The programme will provide an up-to-date view of the quality of hospital maternity care across the country, and a better understanding of what is working well and what isn’t working so well, which it is hoped will help to support learning and improvement.
Poole Hospital’s maternity services were previously rated ‘good’ by the CQC but, unfortunately, the recent inspections found a deterioration in the quality of its safety and leadership arrangements, which has resulted in the downgrading of the service to ‘inadequate’.
Inspectors found:
- There was not always enough staff to keep women and babies safe.
- Systems and processes for managing risk were not always effective, especially in maternity triage.
- The maternity leadership team was new and did not always have enough capacity or experience.
- Managers did not always investigate incidents thoroughly or in a timely way.
- Maintenance of the environment, especially regarding the emergency call bell systems, were not adequate to maintain people’s safety.
Deputy Director of Operations in the South for CQC, Cath Campbell, said:
“Standards of care and treatment had deteriorated in the services we inspected at University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust. This was particularly evident in Poole Hospital’s maternity service, where care and treatment fell below standards people have a right to expect. Behind this was staffing shortage, and risk management which needed strengthening. While NHS services and those in the wider care sector continue to struggle to recruit and retain staff, leaders must ensure this doesn’t lead to people being exposed to avoidable risks.”
The CQC took enforcement action by serving the Trust with a warning notice regarding its processes to summon help in an emergency in Poole Hospital’s maternity service. The Trust has reportedly taken action since the inspection to address this risk.
Comment
It is well-known that maternity services across the country are subject to intense scrutiny. Poole Hospital’s maternity service is sadly the latest in a long list of Trusts where issues have been found. Multiple reviews and inquiries over the last couple of years have raised significant safety concerns.
Improvements must be made. It is good to see that the CQC are taking this so seriously and have started a national inspection programme. This is going to be key to identifying the areas of concern and improvements required, and it is vital that Trusts listen to the findings and work hard to turn things around.
Expectant mothers have the right to have the best and happiest experience in pregnancy, labour and delivery and as things stand, it seems far from guaranteed that this is what to expect from our maternity services in this country.
Clearly, the team at Poole Hospital and their Trust have already worked on issues brought to their attention by the CQC and they must continue to do everything possible to ensure that the service is safe for all those accessing it.
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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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