Maternity services at East Surrey Hospital and the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust have had their rating downgraded by the healthcare watchdog, Care Quality Commission (CQC), from ‘Outstanding’ to ‘Requires Improvement’.
It was found at East Surrey Hospital’s maternity unit, that early warning checks for detecting deterioration in patients had not been completed correctly.
Deputy Director of the CQC Carolyn Jenkinson said:
“this places people at risk of not receiving the care and attention needed for a safe birth”.
Inspectors also found that bed spaces were not always clean or visibly free of dust, dirt, and bodily fluids, which was a risk to people’s health.
It was also reported medicines were not always well managed, and not all infection prevention and control measures were effective or completed appropriately.
The service did not always have enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe, with not all staff receiving appropriate safeguarding training.
Tina Hetherington, chief nurse of Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, said:
“I want to apologise for where we haven’t got it right and the effect this may have on patient confidence in our maternity services.
Since the inspection we have put in place a robust improvement plan – including ensuring tougher infection control measures, more frequent cleanliness checks, and more thorough daily safety checks of medicines and specialist emergency care equipment.”
“We are clear there is more work to do.”
Comment
Headlines of yet another drop in the rating of maternity units strikes a further blow to patient confidence in the safety of maternity services.
There has been a consistent theme of unsafe maternity units up and down the country in the past few years.
It is of paramount importance that action is taken as soon as possible to prevent parents and babies from being put at risk of avoidable harm.
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