The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found improvements in maternity care at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust following an inspection in January.
The inspection was carried out as part of CQC’s national maternity services inspection programme. This will provide an up-to-date view of the quality of hospital maternity care across the country, and a better understanding of what is working well to support learning and improvement.
Following this inspection, the overall rating for maternity services at Bradford Royal Infirmary remains rated as requires improvement. Being safe also remains rated as requires improvement. The rating for well-led has improved from inadequate to good. Effective, caring and responsive were not looked at during this inspection and effective and responsive remain rated as requires improvement and caring remains rated as good.
The overall rating for Bradford Royal Infirmary has improved from requires improvement to good.
Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC’s deputy director of secondary and specialist healthcare, said:
“When we visited maternity services at Bradford Royal Infirmary, we found significant improvements in leadership since our previous inspection. We were pleased to see that leaders were focused on managing priorities the service faced and making changes to benefit women and people in its care.
“For example, there were new surgical theatres which had been purpose built and designed to ensure the best possible environment for people using maternity services. Additionally, there was an open culture where people, their families and staff felt they could raise concerns without fear.
“However, inspectors found the service didn’t always manage medicines well. They didn’t effectively record or store medicines, which could put people at risk of harm. Also, there weren’t always enough staff to meet people’s needs which the trust must address to keep people safe.
“We’ve reported our findings to Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, so it knows what further improvements it needs to address.
“We continue to monitor the service, including through future inspections, to ensure people receive care that meets standards they have a right to expect.”
Inspectors found the following:
- Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills
- Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of women and people receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities
- Staff worked well together for the benefit of women and people using the service
- The service investigated incidents and shared learning with staff.