Maternity services at LGI and St James's in Leeds praised by inspectors

Inspectors visited Leeds General Infirmary and St James;s University Hospital in May and June

Maternity units at two Leeds hospitals have been praised by inspectors who found areas of "outstanding practice".

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated maternity services at St James's University Hospital and Leeds General infirmary "good" following checks.

Leaders and staff "were focused on the needs of women and people receiving care", inspectors said.

However, they said there was a "lack of oversight" over how long people had to wait for phone calls to be answered.

Inspectors visited the two maternity units, which are run by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, in May and June.

'Staff should be proud'

Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC's deputy director of secondary and specialist healthcare, said: "It was reassuring to find both services had enough maternity staff with the right skills, training and experience to keep women and people using the service safe, provide the right care and treatment and protect them from abuse."

Inspectors found outstanding practice and highlighted how "the service worked well with diverse communities to find out perceptions of maternity care in order to provide advice which was accessible and inclusive to people."

Ms Jenkinson added: "Staff should be proud of this work as it helps to reduce health inequalities and ensures people have all the information they need to enable them to have a better birthing experience."

However, inspectors flagged up delays to people contacting the triage departments at the units.

Ms Jenkinson said: "This meant leaders didn't know how long people were waiting or how many had ended their call which could put them and their babies at risk if they didn't get the help and support they needed."

Professor Phil Wood, chief executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said the "good" rating was "testament to the hard work of our teams at both sides of the city who are committed to providing the best possible care for our patients."

He said there were areas for improvement and they were "prioritising the work needed to make these improvements."