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Following an unannounced Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection last October, the resulting report has rated Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as “inadequate”.
The CQC’s report says that mothers and babies are being left at risk by failings at the Trust. It found that Sheffield Teaching Hospitals lacked enough properly qualified staff to keep women and infants “safe from avoidable harm”.
The Trust was previously inspected by the CQC back in March 2021, when inspectors found that the Jessop Wing Unit did not provide “the standard of care women should be able to expect”.
At the re-inspection in October, it was found that there had been little or no improvement in the quality of care that patients were receiving. Shockingly, in some areas, it was found the service had deteriorated even further.
The inspectors found problems with cardiotocography (CTG), which is used to measure a baby’s heart rate, including poor documentation falling short of national guidelines.
The CQC’s analysis of the data found from April to October 2021 showed a total of 35 patient safety incidents raised as a result of a lack of suitably trained/skilled staff.
The recent inspection also found:
- There were not enough midwifery and medical staff with the “right qualifications, skills and training to keep women and babies safe from avoidable harm and to provide the right care and treatment”.
- Foetal monitoring – previously highlighted as a concern by inspectors – “continued to lack urgency and pace in implementing actions and recommendations”.
- Significant concerns about the assessment of patients in the labour ward assessment unit, maternity staffing and delays in induction of labour.
- Staff did not always treat women with compassion and kindness, respect their privacy and dignity, or take account of their individual needs.
- Key information was not always included at shift changes and handovers.
- Pain relief in labour was not always given in a timely way nor were assessments always regular.
- Staff reported difficulties summoning assistance when a woman’s health deteriorated.
The CQC concluded:
“We were not assured that leaders had the skills and abilities to run the service. We were concerned that leaders within the service were not effective in implementing meaningful changes that improved safety.”
The Chief Executive of the Trust said:
“We are all devastated with the outcome of the inspection because there is not one person within the Trust who does not want to do the right thing for our patients and has not worked hard to try and deliver that in exceptional circumstances.
“That is why we are taking it extremely seriously and I will be doing everything in my power to support our staff and make the improvements we need to deliver.”
Comment
At a time when we have seen multiple damning reports in short succession into care at other maternity services, such as Nottingham and Shrewsbury & Telford, it is devastating to see another report of inadequate care and more mothers and babies being put at risk.
It is obvious that there are staffing shortages, and those who remain working in the NHS are facing burnout and exhaustion and Trusts are quite clearly unable to cope.
Patient safety must be the foremost concern here, and it is now imperative that changes are made. The Government needs to do more to help the staffing issues which will be one of the biggest factors in Trusts being able to improve.
But in addition to this, close attention needs to be paid to the CQC’s criticism that it is those in positions of leadership at these Trusts who may not have the skills and abilities to run these services. Strong leadership will be paramount to these Trusts turning this around, and so decisions need to be made in this regard and soon.
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Danielle Young is a Senior Associate 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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