Hospitals in York and Scarborough told to improve maternity services

A watchdog has rated maternity services in York and Scarborough as inadequate

Author: Liam Arrowsmith

A watchdog has told hospitals in York and Scarborough to improve "inadequate" maternity services, following a review.

The Care Quality Commission found the York and Scarborough NHS Foundation Trust wasn't always providing maternity care in a way that was "planned to meet the needs of local women".

In it's report, it said it was "concerning people couldn’t access services when they needed to."

The report also criticised medical, urgent and emergency care at both hospitals in York and Scarborough.

It found there weren't enough staff with the right qualifications, skills, training or experience to keep people safe from avoidable harm and to provide the right care and treatment.

Leadership was also criticised, with the report saying: "Senior leaders weren’t always visible and didn’t always support staff to develop their skills".

However, it praised staff for helping people understand their conditions, and said they provided emotional support to people, families and carers.

Chief executive at the York and Scarborough Trust, Simon Morritt, said: "As is the case across the NHS we have been under sustained pressure and this has impacted our ability to consistently provide the standard of care we all want, which is reflected in the concerns highlighted by the CQC.

"Nevertheless, we accept the CQC’s findings and recognise that we have much more work to do to make sure all our services are of the high standard that our patients and staff expect.”

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