The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has told Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that it must make improvements to its maternity services.
In November, CQC carried out an unannounced focused inspection of the trust’s maternity services at Royal Hampshire County Hospital and Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital. The inspection was undertaken in response to concerns received about the safety and quality of the services. These included staff whistleblowing, patient complaints and information from other healthcare partners.
Due to the focused nature of the inspection the overall rating of the trust did not change and remains good, but there were changes in rating to maternity services, which has dropped from good to requires improvement.
Basingstoke MP, Maria Miller, commented: "It is right that, despite the pandemic, the CQC continues to hold every Hospital Trust to the highest standards. Their report is clear that Hampshire Hospitals staff have worked tirelessly to provide the best maternity care for every woman and baby, but severe staff shortages made a difficult situation worse. The Trust acted immediately, but I have also asked what further work is being done to ensure the same situation can never happen again, particularly understanding how the two maternity units in the Trust can make best use of the staff and resources available. Parents want the safest possible care for the delivery of their babies, that has to be the priority above everything else."
