CQC: Maternity Services at Colchester General Hospital Require Improvement
Staffing and Training Issues Affect Quality of Care for Women and Babies
Maternity services at Colchester General Hospital, run by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, have once again been rated as requiring improvement by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), according to an inspection report released on Friday 5 May.
The inspection was prompted by concerns raised by partner organisations and whistleblowing from staff around safety, culture and governance. Despite finding some issues, the CQC observed staff that were passionate about caring for people and worked well together.
However, the CQC also found that people's care and safety was compromised due to the lack of staff. There was a risk people wouldn’t receive care in a timely manner, and not all people using the service received one-to-one care. Furthermore, people were not always protected from infection as staff did not always follow best practice, and staff did not always feel respected, valued and supported, with senior leadership not always taking immediate action when they raised concerns.
The overall rating for maternity services has again been rated as requiring improvement, after receiving the same rating in 2021. The ratings for being safe and well-led have again been rated as requiring improvement. Effective, caring and responsive were not looked at during this inspection therefore remain unrated.
Hazel Roberts, CQC deputy director of operations in the East of England, expressed disappointment at the findings, particularly around staffing and training for medical staff. These staffing issues were affecting the quality of care being given to women, people using services, and their babies. Due to the triage and the day assessment unit being merged, inspectors found there weren’t enough staff to triage people who called or attended the department in a timely manner. Staff were carrying out too many roles, meaning there was a risk doctors weren’t providing treatment quickly enough to those who needed it.
However, the service had a clear strategy which was in line with the trust overall vision, which was created using feedback from staff, people using services, and their loved ones. Staff were committed to continually improving the service, and leaders collaborated with external partners to resolve issues with people’s care. For example, the service was launching new pods to provide a safe and comfortable environment for infant feeding.
The CQC has told the trust where they expect them to improve and will monitor their progress, including through future inspections, to make sure that people using this service are kept safe. The report is available on the CQC’s website.
Dr Giles Thorpe, Chief Nurse at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust said: “We welcome this report and are already putting into place many of the recommendations made by the CQC team. Like all NHS trusts throughout the country, our staff have been managing many pressures and I am very grateful for all of their hard work. It is pleasing to see that the inspectors also found many positive aspects of our care and leadership.
“We have shared the recommendations with all of our staff and partners. An action plan detailing the progress being made against each of the recommendations is discussed in detail by our strategic improvement board for maternity services across the Trust. The Every Birth Every Day programme board includes colleagues from all our commissioning and regulatory bodies such as the integrated care board and NHS England”.