Maternity service shows 'significant improvements'

Staff at the Dorset County Hospital's maternity unit were praised for their work in improving care

Maternity services at a Dorset hospital have shown "significant improvements", the health watchdog has found.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) upgraded the rating of maternity services at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester from "requires improvement" to "good", following an inspection in May.

It said women had a "much better experience of care and treatment".

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust's director of nursing Jo Howarth said the improvement was "testament to the hard work and resilience" of the staff.

The hospital provides maternity services to the population of west and north Dorset, including Dorchester, Weymouth and Portland, and Purbeck.

It had been downgraded to "requires improvement" in November 2023 after inspectors found a "steep decline in the governance" of the service.

Among the criticisms, it said there were not enough qualified and experienced staff to "keep women and babies safe from avoidable harm".

The latest report said it had now met the requirements of the warning notice, with ratings for safety and leadership lifted to "good".

The overall rating for Dorset County Hospital was also upgraded from "requires improvement" to "good".

The CQC report highlighted weekly leadership meetings to review incidents and said there was now an "open culture" where people felt able to raise concerns.

Risk assessments were also completed for all babies within the first hour of birth.

It also said staff showed "responsive care and compassion" when supporting families with specific needs including women residing at a local military base who had relocated from Afghanistan.

Neil Cox, CQC deputy director of operations said the staff should be "proud of the improvements".

"Behind this was an improvement in how well-led the service was, which in turn supported staff to provide better care."

The report did raise concerns about safeguarding and child protection alerts not being properly documented as well as delivery rooms appearing dated or lacking the proper cleaning verification.

Ms Howarth said the report reflected the staff's "unwavering focus on delivering high-quality care to women and families in Dorset".

"We know this isn't the case for all and remain committed to further enhancing maternity care and ensuring that every woman receives the safest and most supportive experience possible," she added.