Hospital left mothers and babies at risk - report

Maternity services at Leighton Hospital were inspected by the Care Quality Commission in September

A hospital has been told to improve its maternity services after inspectors found staffing levels were putting mothers and babies at risk through emergency surgery delays.

And some staff at the unit in Leighton Hospital in Crewe had not completed mandatory training, including safeguarding training to protect against abuse, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found.

Following the inspection in September 2023, the CQC rated safety levels and quality of leadership regarding maternity as "requires improvement".

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which manages the hospital, said the safety of those in its care remained a "top priority."

Since the inspection, the trust had delivered a "planned investment" of over £1m, to "continue to improve the quality and safety of services," a spokesperson added.

The overall rating for the foundation trust remains "good".

'Care level disappointing'

The CQC's verdict came after a visit as part of an inspection of maternity services nationally, last year.

"When we inspected maternity services at Leighton Hospital, we were disappointed to find the care provided was not at the level women, people using the service, and their babies have a right to expect," Carolyn Jenkinson, from the CQC, said.

“We found the service didn’t have enough medical or midwifery staff to match the planned numbers working. The lack of staff had led to delays when people needed planned and emergency Caesarean sections."

However, staff were focused on the needs of people using the service, despite the challenges, and the trust had "provided investment and made improvements" since the inspection, she added.

The hospital's services include a labour ward and midwifery-led unit, with 3,080 babies born between April 2021 and March 2022.

The CQC report found not all staff had been trained to use equipment properly and leaders were not always monitoring the services effectively or addressing issues when required.

'Significant strides'

However, inspectors said leaders were generally visible and approachable to staff and people using the service and had engaged with the local community to make improvements.

The service handled complaints well, the report added, with staff providing apologies when required and providing suitable support to those affected.

Since the inspection, maternity service teams have made "significant strides" in recent months, and additional staff have been recruited Scott Malton, chief nursing officer at the trust, said.

"We have also expanded services, bringing in additional members of staff to support work in our maternity theatres, alongside making improvements within our maternity triage and waiting rooms," he explained.

"We recognise that there is still more work to do, and we will carry on our journey of continuous improvement to provide the very best level of safe quality care for our community."