Safety at hospital maternity unit must be improved, report says

Inspectors rated maternity services as good but said staff must complete mandatory safety training

A report into maternity services at a Nottinghamshire hospital has found them to be good - but stated that safety must be improved.

An inspection of services at King's Mill Hospital, in Sutton-in-Ashfield, was carried out in November by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

It rated maternity services as good overall but its safety rating went down from "good" to "requires improvement".

The trust that runs the hospital said work had begun to make improvements.

The report said the service had enough staff to care for women and keep them safe, but added not all staff had completed mandatory safeguarding and maternity training.

It said the use of risk assessments in triage was inconsistent and systems and processes in place had the potential to lead to delays in women being assessed and their needs escalated.

However, it added staff across the service staff completed risk assessments for each woman and took action to remove or minimise risk in a timely manner.

It also said leaders at the hospital understood and managed the priorities and issues the service faced.

'Respected, supported and valued'

The report identified two areas of outstanding practice.

It said the trust was supportive and educated new mothers around the challenges of feeding a newborn.

It also said the trust had listened to staff returning from maternity leave about the challenges they had when wanting to express milk for their baby.

This had led to a feeding pod in the main entrance of the hospital accessible for staff, visitors and patients.

The inspection was carried out as part of a national review of the maternity services inspection programme being carried out by the CQC.

Greg Rielly, the CQC's deputy director of operations in the Midlands, said: "We found a leadership team that had the skills and abilities to manage the service well.

"There was a positive culture within the service and staff felt respected, supported and valued.

"Both women and staff felt they could raise concerns without fear, and we were pleased to find that leaders were visible and approachable for them to do so.

"However, we did find concerns around safety which leaders must work to address.

"We found that the triage system was ineffective, with a multi-option phone line meaning calls could end up being put through to the labour ward.

"Additionally, while staff told us they knew how to prioritise calls of clinical concern, this wasn't always clearly documented, meaning leaders couldn't be assured appropriate triaging had taken place."

'Continuous improvement'

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said work was already under way to address the points raised by the report.

Phil Bolton, chief nurse, said: "We welcome feedback from the CQC because we're keen to ensure that our maternity services continue to offer a high standard of care to patients and their families.

"The 'good' rating rightly recognises the fantastic work our maternity colleagues do, day in and day out, despite the ongoing challenges placed on maternity services.

"Continuous improvement is one of our top priorities and work is well under way to address the points raised, as well as others we have identified."