Hospital boss 'disappointed' at maternity review

Bosses at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn said they would not "shy away" from the national maternity investigation

A hospital boss said she was surprised and disappointed it was one of 14 included in a national maternity review.

The BBC understands the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in King's Lynn, Norfolk was chosen because it had a high perinatal mortality rate, which includes stillbirths and early neonatal deaths.

The Department of Health said trusts had been selected based on data analysis and the views of families, as well as to ensure a geographical and demographic mix.

Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group chief executive Lesley Dwyer said the trust would look at the way patients were monitored early in labour and ensure those needing a higher level of care were transferred elsewhere sooner.

Group CEO Lesley Dwyer said she was surprised and disappointed maternity services were to be reviewed

The QEH, where ceilings are held up by thousands of props, was recently named the worst-performing hospital in the country.

It is the only trust in the East of England to be included in the rapid review of maternity care, which was announced by the government to examine what it described as "failures in the system".

The BBC has asked the trust to confirm its perinatal mortality rate.

It was rated as "good" for maternity services by healthcare inspectors the Care Quality Commission in March 2024.

Ms Dwyer said she and other hospital leaders had met with Baroness Amos, the chairwoman of the maternity review.

"I think we were a little bit surprised we were included and in some ways, a little bit disappointed," she said.

"I don't want this to further erode the confidence in the hospital by either our community or the sense of the staff themselves and the work that they do."

However, she added they needed to better monitor stillbirth rates and ensure women flagged as needing a higher level of care were "transferred [to the Norfolk and Norwich] as soon as possible".

The birth rate at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital has been declining

In 2023-24, 1,730 babies were delivered at QEH, compared with 4,645 born in the same period at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.

"Norfolk has one of the oldest populations in the UK so it does stand to reason that in fact our birth rate would not be on the rise as you might see in other areas," Ms Dwyer continued.

"That does cause concern for us around the ability to attract staff into these units, but also the safety of women and their babies."

She said she did not want people "travelling long distances for routine care".

The national review is expected to be completed by spring 2026.