North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Trust: Babies put 'at risk'

The watchdog said it would "continue to monitor" the trust

Mothers and their babies were put "at risk" over problematic staffing levels at a hospitals trust, a watchdog found.

Unannounced inspections found several areas of concern at maternity services in hospitals run by the North Cumbria Integrated Care (NCIC) NHS Trust.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) downgraded its safety rating to "requires improvement", but the services overall remained "good".

The trust said it had already acted on the concerns raised.

The snap inspections into maternity care at Carlisle's Cumberland Infirmary, Whitehaven's West Cumberland Hospital and the Penrith Birthing Unit were carried out in April.

Staffing levels at home births could have put babies in danger, the CQC said

"Staffing levels at each hospital didn't always match the planned numbers needed to keep people and babies safe," said Carolyn Jenkinson, the CQC's deputy director of secondary and specialist healthcare.

She said community midwives were sometimes redeployed to other hospitals, affecting staffing levels at dedicated birthing sites and home births, which "could place people and their babies at risk".

They were put in danger because there were not always enough staff "suitably trained" who could respond to "emergency life support situations".

The trust said the safety of those on the maternity unit was "important"

Inspectors also found that "not all staff had training in key skills", which included "life support and safeguarding training" across the trust's maternity services.

But they found leaders "ran services well" using "reliable" systems and actively supported staff.

Ms Jenkinson, who said there was a "recruitment plan" to fill vacancies, said: "It was positive that leaders were visible and approachable across all three maternity sites.

"Staff told us how supportive their managers were, and it was good to hear that the executive team regularly visited wards and helped with any issues brought to their attention."

She added the watchdog would "continue to monitor" the trust to ensure "the necessary improvements are made so people and their babies can receive safe and appropriate care".

It follows a review of maternity services across the country, and comes several years after midwives warned mothers and babies "may die" over changes to the service at the time.

'Strong leadership'

NCIC Trust chief nurse Jill Foster said maternity services were under intense scrutiny, and felt the rating was a "great achievement by the team".

"The safety of women and birthing people and their children is of the highest importance to us all," she said.

"We welcome the fact that the CQC has highlighted some areas where we can make further improvements to make sure we deliver safe high-quality care every time."

She said that it had "strong leadership" in place to make improvements, adding that it was "already acting" on the recommendations.