Hospital's maternity services rated 'good' but more progress needed

The healthcare watchdog has rated maternity services at Birmingham's Heartlands Hospital "good" - but raised concerns over waiting times and some aspects of safety.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors visited in June, upgrading the provision from a previous rating of "requires improvement".

However, they found waiting times for some women at night and weekends were "still too long".

Margaret Garbett, chief nurse at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We recognise there is more to do, plans are already in place to address these areas, and we will continue to build on the progress we have made."

The CQC carried out the unannounced inspection to follow up on progress it had previously told the trust to make.

Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC's deputy director of hospitals in the West Midlands, said: "When we visited Birmingham Heartlands Hospital's maternity service in June, we found leaders and staff had made real and meaningful progress since our last inspection.

"Leaders now had a better understanding of what was happening in the service. They had clear and effective structures and processes and were acting on data and feedback."

She added, however: "Doctors weren't always able to review women in triage within the recommended timeframes, and there were issues within the wider medical workforce where culture and training opportunities needed to be improved."

In terms of individual care criteria within maternity services, the watchdog said it had upgraded ratings for how effective, responsive and well-led provision was from requires improvement to good, and how safe it was from inadequate to requires improvement.

The CQC described staffing gaps in the department that "need to be addressed".

Garbett said: "We know that we do not always get everything right, and we are sorry when the care or experience we provide falls short of the standards we expect for our women and families."

Her statement added: "We are pleased that the significant progress made within maternity services at Heartlands Hospital has been recognised.

"This reflects the determination of our teams, who have listened, learned and worked together to improve safety, quality and the experience of women, babies and families."

Inspectors did not record how caring the service was during the latest inspection, wtih that aspect retaining a rating of good from a previous visit, although inspectors noted examples of kind and compassionate care from staff.

As the CQC has not inspected every service area since the trust took over the running of Heartlands, there is no overall rating for the hospital.

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