Maternity services at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust rated good
Bradford Maternity Services have been upgraded to good after an inspection from the CQC.
41 new midwives have been recruited and managers are promoting a good safety culture.
Linda Hirst, CQC deputy director of operations in the North-East, said:
“When we returned to Bradford Royal Infirmary, we were pleased to see improvements across their maternity service to ensure women and their babies are receiving the appropriate level of care they deserve. We found a service where most mothers and babies received good care and had complementary feedback to give on their birth experiences.
“It was positive that 41 newly qualified midwives had been recruited who commenced work in October and November to ensure there were enough staff to meet the needs of the service.
“Managers promoted a good safety culture where incidents were investigated, and learning was embedded to promote good practice and to prevent issues from happening again. Staff told us about feeling fully supported by leaders and were happy in their roles which had a positive knock on effect on people’s care.
“Women also told us staff in their birthing journey were discreet, respectful and responsive, providing them with help, emotional support and advice any time they needed it.
“Community midwives built trusted relationships with vulnerable and high-risk women to ensure they received safe care and were comfortable to approach them whenever needed throughout their pregnancies.
"There were areas where improvements are still needed. Leaders recognised one of their focus areas was to improve outcomes for women, especially considering deprivation level and ethnic background which can often impact negatively on birthing experiences. Case reviews, lessons learnt forums and a development of multi-agency action plans were in progress to improve performance in this area.
“We’ve shared our findings with the trust, so they know where there’s good practice to build on and where improvements are needed. Staff should be pleased with the service they’re providing, and we will continue to monitor the trust, to make sure the necessary improvements are made so women and people using the service continue to receive good care in future.”