Watchdog finds improvements but more needed to keep Hereford patients safe
The Care Quality Commission says it's now rating maternity services at Hereford County Hospital as 'good', up from 'requires improvement'
More improvements still need to be made at Hereford County Hospital’s maternity department to make sure patients are safe.
But the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found the Wye Valley NHS Trust-run unit is moving in the right direction during an inspection.
As well as overall maternity services at The County Hospital improving from requires improvement to good, so has how well-led the service is. Safe has again been rated as requires improvement. Effective, caring and responsive were not looked at during this inspection and remain rated as good.
The overall rating for The County Hospital remains as requires improvement overall.
Inspectors praised how people could access the service when they needed it and staff morale, but found daily checks of equipment didn’t always take place and how staff training was lacking in some areas.
Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC’s deputy director of secondary and specialist healthcare, said: “When we visited maternity services at The County Hospital, staff were working incredibly hard to deliver a high standard of care to women, people using the service, and their babies.
“We found a well-respected and supportive leadership team who had the skills and abilities to run the service well, however there were some areas of concern which needed to be addressed to keep people safe.
“Inspectors found staffing levels didn’t always match the planned numbers, putting the safety of people using the service at risk.”
She added: “Despite finding some issues, staff had worked hard since our previous inspection to improve the quality of care they were delivering to women, people using the service and their babies, and people we spoke to during the inspection were positive about their experience.”
Amie Symes, the trust’s associate director of midwifery, said: ““We’re incredibly proud of our wonderful maternity team, working with dedication, enthusiasm and pride to achieve these improvements.
“We are fortunate to benefit from a highly skilled and experienced multi-disciplinary team across a range of specialities including midwifery, obstetrics, paediatrics, anaesthetics and theatres, and the improvements made are a testament to the team’s hard work and commitment to the service.”
Jane Ives, the trust’s managing director, said: “Our excellent maternity team deserves this recognition.
“They have worked very hard to continually improve the service to women and families. Listening to the users of the service and responding to feedback, as well as implementing clinical best practice, latest research and national guidelines.
“Our next ambition as a Trust is to be rated as “good” overall, and this rating is a further step in this direction.”