Local maternity care criticised by the Care Quality Commission.
Devon maternity negligence: Maternity care in Devon “requires improvement” says report.
In a worrying report, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated the maternity care at two Devon hospitals, North Devon District Hospital (NDDH) and Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital (RD&E), as ‘requires improvement’, following its most recent inspections in March 2024.
This follows a worrying national trend, with the CQC finding 131 other maternity units across the country that are also experiencing widespread issues relating to maternity care. This had led to concerns that maternity failings in hospitals are at risk of becoming normalised.
North Devon District Hospital
North Devon District Hospital’s overall rating for maternity care is ‘requires improvement’.
The CQC rated NDDH as requires improvement due to the following:
- NDDH maternity service relied on the individual clinical judgement of staff to remove or reduce risks during birth, instead of relying on standard risk assessment tools for triaging patients.
- Midwifery staffing levels were not always able to meet planned numbers and the appropriate tools and methods used to monitor and dynamically adjust staffing levels were note used effectively.
- Medical records and incident reports were not always completed fully.
- Leaders did not always manage issues surrounding risk and performance well.
- Baby abduction drills were not being carried out regularly
- Effective planning processes were detrimentally affected by inconsistent audit systems, which also affected the management of risks.
However, the CQC also highlighted the following areas of NDDH maternity care unit as being strong:
- The needs of the maternity service were met by the number of doctors employed.
- Infection risks were managed well by NDDH maternity service.
- NDDH maternity service has appropriate levels of equipment to keep patients and babies safe.
- The maternity service engaged well with patients under its care. All staff in the service were committed to its continual improvement.
- Patients had access to the service when they needed it and did not experience long wait times for treatment.
For further information, the CQC’s report on NDDH’s maternity care service can be found here.
Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital
The CQC has also rated the RD&E’s maternity care service as ‘requires improvement’. This was because:
- The maternity service had issues relating to staffing levels resulting from absences due to sickness. This meant that staffing levels were not always able to meet the demand for care, increasing the risk to patients and babies.
- Equipment and control measures to reduce the risks posed by infection were not always utilised by staff effectively. There were issues with areas not always being visibly clean.
- Governance systems were not always implemented effectively by leadership, resulting in risk, issues and performance not always being managed effectively.
- Safeguarding and role specific training for staff was overdue, increasing the risk posed to patients and babies.
Areas of the RD&E maternity care service that were assessed by the CQC as being managed well include:
- Patients had access to the service when they needed it and did not experience long wait times for treatment.
- The roles and responsibilities of staff were clearly defined and understood.
- Staff effectively assessed the risks posed to patients and babies.
- Care records were recorded accurately and kept up to date.
- The maternity care service was run effectively by leadership and management ensured the effectiveness of the service was monitored and ensured that all staff were competent.
For further information, the CQC’s report on RD&E’s maternity care service can be found here.
It is clear that local maternity care at NDDH and RD&E is following the concerning national trend of poor standards of maternity care, increasing the risks posed during pregnancy and child birth, which can have a devastating lifelong impact upon patients.
