Improvements required in maternity services at Airedale General Hospital
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has downgraded the department when it comes to being safe and well-led
Last updated 1st Jun 2023
A new report's found improvements are needed in maternity services at Airedale General Hospital.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has downgraded the department when it comes to being safe and well-led.
Inspectors said staffing shortages could potentially put women and babies at risk.
Decline from good to requires improvement
The CQC has told Airedale NHS Foundation Trust it needs to improve maternity care at Airedale General Hospital, following an inspection in December.
The inspection was carried out as part of CQC’s national maternity services inspection programme.
Following this inspection, the overall rating for maternity services has declined from good to requires improvement.
It has also dropped from good to requires improvement for being safe and well-led. Effective, caring and responsive were not looked at during this inspection and remain rated as good.
The overall rating for Airedale General Hospital remains rated as requires improvement.
Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC’s deputy director of secondary and specialist healthcare, said:
“When we visited maternity services at Airedale General Hospital, we found staff were focused on the needs of people in their care, however staffing shortages had impacted on their morale as they felt they couldn’t always give women and people using the service the standard of care they needed.
“We found improvements were needed around safety. For example, the maternity assessment centre had no clear system in place to prioritise and risk assess people to ensure they were treated in a timely way.
“The trust leadership team know where improvements are needed and we will continue to monitor the service, including through future inspections, to ensure people are receiving the high standard of care they deserve.”
Training concerns
Inspectors found the following:
• The service was unable to evidence some mandatory training figures, including levels of appropriate safeguarding adults training or competency checks in medicines management.
• There were gaps in sharing safeguarding information during handovers.
• Policies and documentation were not always kept up to date, and audits were not always completed in line with trust targets. Action plans were not always completed or updated in a timely way.
However:
• Staff worked well together for the benefit of women and people using the service and understood how to protect them from abuse.
• The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff felt respected, supported, and valued and were focused on the needs of people using the service.
Hospital bosses disappointed at result
Sarah Simpson, Director of Midwifery said:
“Although the rating is disappointing, we know our maternity service has a strong background in listening and learning, and most importantly in putting women and their families at the heart of the decisions we make about their care.
“We acknowledge and accept the recommendations; however it’s important to understand we were already making these changes, and the Care Quality Commission praised us for our commitment to continuous learning and making improvements to our service. This report, along with the feedback we receive from women in our care, the maternity survey and the local Maternity Voices Partnership, builds on that work.
“Having a baby is a special time and we are always looking for ideas to improve, to make this experience as positive as possible. One example is our new Birth Choices midwife, who is here to help women with their individual birth choices, ensuring they get care that’s personal to them.
“We are very fortunate too to have a really engaged community of mums, who want to help us shape the service for them, and the CQC recognised the work we put into listening to women. We are hosting a number of events in the coming months and if anyone wants to get involved and share their experiences and ideas they can get in touch via our website or our Airedale midwives facebook page.”
Trust: 'women and families are at the centre of everything'
Amanda Stanford, Chief Nurse and Executive Director for Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals, added:
“We know we have work to do, particularly around our governance and processes, but I would like to assure families that our maternity services are safe, and well-run, and the CQC highlighted many examples of good practice.
“While we understand that this report may raise questions for some families, I would encourage them to please contact myself or our Director of Midwifery Sarah Simpson or their midwife so that we can alleviate any concerns they may have.
“It’s important to note that the report also describes staff that feel respected, supported, and valued and that are focused on the needs of women receiving care. I am proud of our exceptionally hard-working teams who deliver excellent care at a very important time in a family’s life. I know that they put women and families at the centre of everything they do”.