'Disappointing' standard of care at hospital

The Care Quality Commission said Stroud Maternity Hospital requires improvement

A health watchdog has said it is "disappointed" in the standard of care being offered at Stroud Maternity Hospital.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said the hospital, run by Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust, needs to improve its maternity services, as well as safety and leadership.

Inspectors said the unit was potentially placing people at risk as out of date medicines were found on their visit.

Lisa Stephens, the hospital's director of midwifery, said: “The inspection highlighted a number of areas where we need to focus our work, and we have already taken steps to ensure better process are in place to address them."

Potential risk

Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC's deputy director, said: "The unit was also potentially placing women and people using services at risk of receiving out of date medicines.

"We saw adrenaline and ultrasound gel that all expired before the inspection date," she added.

The inspections aims to provide up-to-date information on the quality of maternity care across the country.

In Stroud Maternity Hospital, it was found that not all staff had completed mandatory maternity or safeguarding training, there weren’t always enough midwifery staff on duty in the right areas and electrical safety testing was not always completed for equipment.

Commitment to improve

However, inspectors also reported that staff were committed to improving services and people could access the service when they needed it and didn't have to wait long for treatment.

Ms Jenkinson explained: “Despite the issues we found, we also saw staff who worked well together for the benefit of everyone using the service.

"They managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them, with a real commitment to continual improvement."

The hospital's Ms Stephens said: “We want to reassure mums and families that our Stroud Maternity Unit remains a safe place to have a baby.

"The Trust continue to make changes in their transformation journey and remain committed to work with our staff, families and partners in delivering our improvement plans for the service."