The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated maternity services at King's Mill Hospital, run by Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, good, following an inspection in November. However, improvements must be made after this inspection also sees the safety rating drop from good to requires improvement.
This inspection was carried out as part of CQC’s national maternity services inspection programme. The programme aims to 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 at a local and national level.
Following the inspection, the safety rating for maternity services at King's Mill Hospital has dropped from good to requires improvement. The overall rating remains rated as good as does how well-led the service is. CQC did not look at the other three key questions, meaning caring remains rated as outstanding, and how effective and responsive the service is remains rated as good from the previous inspection.
King's Mill Hospital as a location was not inspected and remains rated as outstanding overall. Sherwood Forest NHS Foundation Trust’s overall rating also remains unchanged and is rated as good.
Greg Rielly, CQC’s deputy director of operations in the midlands, said:
“When we visited the maternity services at King's Mill Hospital, we found a leadership team that had the skills and abilities to manage the service well.
“There was a positive culture within the service and staff felt respected, supported and valued. Both women and staff felt they could raise concerns without fear, and we were pleased to find that leaders were visible and approachable, for them to do so.
“It was encouraging to see that people could access the service when they needed it, and didn’t have to wait too long for treatment, with all staff committed to continually improving services.
“However, we did find concerns around safety which leaders must work to address. We found that the triage system was ineffective, with a multi-option phone line meaning calls could end up being put through to the labour ward.
“Additionally, while staff told us they knew how to prioritise calls of clinical concern, this wasn’t always clearly documented, meaning leaders couldn’t be assured appropriate triaging had taken place.
“We will continue to monitor the service, including through future inspections, to make sure that the trust improves the safety of this service.”
Inspectors found the following during this inspection:
- The service had suitable facilities to meet the needs of women
- The service managed safety incidents well and learnt lessons from them to try and prevent them from happening again
- Staff felt listened to by the leadership team and felt actions were taken when concerns were raised
- The service actively engaged with women, staff, equality groups, public and local organisations to plan, manage and improve services.
However:
- Not all staff had completed mandatory, safeguarding and maternity specific training in line with the trust’s own targets, putting people at risk
- The triage system was ineffective as there were multiple options that people could choose when calling the unit. This posed a risk to those needing urgent care
- Leaders and teams didn’t always use systems to manage performance well.