The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found improvements in Isle of Wight NHS Trust maternity care, following an inspection on 31st October and 1st November.
Following this focused inspection maternity services were rated as good overall. The service was also rated as good for being safe and well-led.
National maternity services inspection programme
The inspections were undertaken as part of CQC’s national maternity services inspection programme.
This will provide an up-to-date view of the quality of hospital maternity care across the country, and a better understanding of what is working well to support learning and improvement.
The overall trust rating, good, was not affected by the maternity safety inspections.
Jenkinson: A well-run department with staff doing their very best for the women
Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC head of hospital inspection, said:
“Maternity services across England have faced significant challenges, but the Isle of Wight Trust have worked hard to not only ensure the safety of women, but also allow staff to achieve their roles in an environment encouraging learning and development.
“We observed a well-run department with staff doing their very best for the women in their charge. There are some things that do need to be reviewed such as the evaluation of triage times and ensuring more clarity around the recording of medicines, but the trust leadership are already aware of these issues and working to resolve them.
“Staff felt valued and respected, and there were instances of good collaboration in the interest of women and babies.
“We continue to monitor it closely, including through future inspections, and we look forward to find what future improvements have been put in place.”
Highlights from inspection
During the inspection inspectors found:
- Staff received key skills training and collaborated for patients. They also understood how to protect patients from abuse.
- There were enough staff to care for women and keep them safe.
- Infection risks, medicines and safety incidents were managed well.
- Women who chose to give birth outside of guidelines were supported make sure the birth was as safe as possible. Midwives said the teams worked together well to support informed choice.
- The service engaged well with women and communities to plan and manage services, and people could access it when they needed.
- Staff and leaders were committed to continually improving services.
The full reports will be published on CQC’s Website on Wednesday 14th December.
News shared by John on behalf of CQC. Ed
Image: salimfadhley under CC BY 2.0
