Hull maternity unit not fit for purpose - watchdog

Hull Royal Infirmary's maternity unit has been rated as inadequate, with Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors describing it as a "chaotic environment which was not fit for purpose".

The CQC said the "design, use of facilities, premises and equipment did not always ensure women and birthing people were safe".

The visit was part of its national maternity inspection programme.

Hospital bosses said immediate action had been taken to address the issues.

Following a series of visit in March and April, inspectors said systems and risks in the antenatal day unit and triage department "were not well managed" leading to long delays in pregnant women being seen and a "chaotic environment which was not fit for purpose".

The CQC also found just 51% of staff were trained to assess foetal growth despite the trust having a target of 90% while others did not know how to evacuate a birthing pool in the event of an emergency.

The report said there was also no neonatal resuscitaire - a device used to give breathing support to babies when needed - on the antenatal day unit and no plan in place for how staff could access one in an emergency.

The trust "had issues" with staffing and staff sickness, the CQC said, and there were no appraisal procedures in place to ensure workers were competent in their roles.

Staff also felt unsupported, telling inspectors that "they were not always listened to and following incidents they were not provided with compassion and support from leaders, which can be indicative of a closed culture".

However, the CQC report did find that maternity service areas were clean and workers controlled infection well.

It was also noted that recruitment was ongoing to improve staffing issues.

A spokesperson for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said they were "extremely disappointed" with the outcome of the inspection but acknowledged the findings "in their entirety".

"Since the inspectors visited we have reviewed all of the areas highlighted by the CQC and we are taking immediate action to address the urgent issues raised in the report," they added.

In a statement they said that since April a number of new staff had been recruited, including a head of midwifery and three consultants, in order to "ensure that pregnant people requiring urgent care are assessed rapidly and appropriately and receive the care they need in a safe and timely way".