The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has instructed Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to enhance its maternity services after downgrading its rating from good to requires improvement.
This decision follows a thorough inspection conducted in September as part of the CQC’s national maternity services inspection programme.
Great Western Hospital, witnessed a decline in its overall rating for maternity services, particularly in leadership and safety aspects. Concerns were raised regarding the timely addressing of issues, posing risks to patients. Furthermore, the inspection highlighted inadequate systems and processes, including the transfer of care records and unresolved ventilation concerns.
Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC’s deputy director of secondary and specialist healthcare, expressed disappointment at the deterioration of care standards within the maternity services. She cited instances of delayed actions by local leaders and insufficient incident escalation procedures, compromising patient safety.
Despite staffing challenges and incomplete mandatory training, staff dedication to providing quality care was acknowledged. Efforts to address health inequalities and maintain a hygienic environment were noted positively.
The CQC’s report, scheduled for release on today, underscores the imperative for swift improvements to ensure optimal care for women, patients, and their babies.
Inspectors found:
- Staff hadn’t all completed mandatory training to identify and protect people from abuse and manage safely well.
- Record-keeping wasn’t always consistent or fully completed. Staff updated both paper and electronic notes and there was a lack of clarity as to where staff could find information.
- Leaders weren’t effectively monitoring the service’s performance and acting quickly to address issues and risks. Leaders didn’t always address risks that the service was aware of promptly.
- Women and people using the service didn’t always know where they could go for urgent help about a pregnancy. However, the trust showed inspectors proposals to address this with a streamlined contact system which may be put in place.
Finishing off the report Carolyn Jenkinson said, “We will continue to monitor the trust, including through future inspections, to ensure the issues we identified are addressed so women, people using the service and their babies receive the best possible care.”
