The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated maternity services provided by East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust as Requires Improvement following an inspection.
CQC inspectors visited the trust in January and February 2020 to check the quality of maternity services in both William Harvey Hospital and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital.
Overall, maternity services across the trust remain rated as Requires Improvement. Services are rated Good for being effective, caring and responsive to people’s needs and Requires Improvement for being safe and well-led.
CQC has taken action at the trust issuing two Requirement Notices. These relate to improvements needed with regard to the governance and the provision of the safe care and treatment in its the maternity services.
You can read the latest reports in full here: www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RVV
Dr Nigel Acheson, CQC’s Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said:
“We found a number of improvements had taken place in the maternity units at both William Harvey Hospital and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital since our last inspection of East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust in May 2018, but some concerns remain, and we will follow up to make sure that these are addressed.
“Our inspectors found a team committed to learning and continually improving the department. The service had a vision for what it wanted to achieve and a strategy to turn it into action.
“The department had recently implemented additional Cardiotocography (CTG) training for staff and aimed to ensure a safer outcome for babies. CTG is a means of recording the foetal heartbeat and contractions during pregnancy.
“Despite these green shoots of improvement there was still work to be done especially in antenatal services.
“At William Harvey Hospital, the antenatal clinic in outpatients was poorly maintained. Staff in day care did not always report incidents, which meant managers could be unaware of avoidable events on the unit.
“Our inspectors found junior midwives, without the experience or knowledge to escalate complex emergency situations, working alone in day care. After our inspection the trust told us they were reviewing rosters to ensure there was always an experienced midwife on duty and staff could contact a senior midwifery co-ordinator to escalate concerns.
“We found that because the risk to women was not effectively managed in antenatal services, midwives sometimes had to review and assess women, who may be at high risk, rather than a doctor. Midwives told us that a senior doctor was sometimes available in clinic. However, it was usually a junior doctor with limited experience in obstetrics that would review and discharge.
“We fed our findings back to the trust and its leadership knows what it must to do to bring about improvement. The trust is currently being supported by NHS Improvement through their Maternity Support Programme. We will work closely with other stakeholders to monitor the trust’s progress. We will return at a later date to check on what progress has been made.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, CQC’s immediate focus is on supporting providers to keep people safe during a period of unprecedented pressure. The Commission will continue to collect insight and intelligence about the quality of care from existing data sources, providers, healthcare staff, stakeholders, and the public and work closely with NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure additional support is in place where needed.
CQC is listening to what people are saying about services during this time to help detect any changes in care. Although the Commission is not conducting routine inspections during the COVID-19 pandemic, where there is evidence that people are at immediate risk of harm, CQC can and will take action to ensure people are being kept safe.
People can give feedback to CQC via:
- Telephone - 03000 616161
- Give feedback via our website- www.cqc.org.uk/give-feedback-on-care
Ends
For further information, please contact John Scott, Regional Engagement Manager on 07789 875809. Journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact the team here. (Please note: the press office is unable to advise members of the public on health or social care matters.)
For general enquiries, please call 03000 61 61 61.