Each year the Care Quality Commission asks new mums and dads about their experience in NHS maternity units - and 2022's survey results show the North East has some of the best-reviewed labour wards and antenatal services in the country.
Nationally, the results of the annual survey saw the CQC sound the alarm over a “concerning decline” in women’s experiences, saying it has noticed a “deterioration” over the last five years in the ratings women gave their care. But in our region, the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust was specifically cited as an "outlier" among the seven best-rated trusts overall.
Similarly, at the Newcastle Hospitals trust's maternity unit at the RVI, the service was rated as better or much better than most other trusts across a range of categories.
Read more: North East paramedic says strikes are over 'scary and demoralising' reality on the NHS front line
This is how the trusts in the North East rated:
Northumbria Healthcare
New parents were glowing about their experience at the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington. This continues a trend from recent years. Highlights in the report included care in hospital following birth being rated as amongst the best in the country.
New parents also rated advice given about feeding their baby highly - overall the trust was "much better than expected" in "all scored questions relating to experience of labour and birth and care on the ward after the birth". The questions in the survey are split into eight sections covering the full maternity journey.
The trust scored significantly above average in questions relating to the information women were given about how their physical and mental health could be affected by pregnancy and childbirth, and also achieved high scores for how easy it was to speak to midwives following birth. Though still landing in the "as expected" rankings, the trust did perform slightly below average for some aspects of antenatal care.
Head of midwifery, Jenna Wall, said: “I was really pleased with our performance in the survey last year, so I’m delighted that we have not only been able to maintain that level but even improve on it by being highlighted among the best trusts in the country.
“Our staff continue to work incredibly hard to deliver safe, compassionate and personalised care to our patients, so it is reassuring that this is appreciated by those giving birth with us and that they are having a positive experience under our care."
Newcastle Hospitals
Strong scores for care given at the beginning of pregnancy and antenatal check ups were among the highlights when it came to feedback from mums who gave birth at the RVI in Newcastle. The trust was also the best in the region - and among the best in the country - when rated on care during pregnancy. Overall, the trust was at least "better than expected" in more than 30 questions.
It performs in the top end of the "as expected" range for care during pregnancy, too - with the care of staff praised by those completing the survey.
Jane Anderson, associate director of midwifery said: "I’m delighted to see the results of the survey, feedback like this is extremely important to us, not only does it help us see what is working well but also allows us to focus on continuing to improve our services. The last few years have been challenging – not only for our staff but also for those accessing our services. I want to say thank you to everyone who took the time to comment on the care they received here in Newcastle.
“As a team we pride ourselves on delivering outstanding levels of care at all stages of the maternity journey and each member of this fantastic team play an integral role in bringing high quality, compassionate care to our families."
Like Northumbria, Newcastle did not come out "worse than expected" on any metric when scored by new mums.
Gateshead Health
Maternity at the QE In Gateshead was also "somewhat better", "better" or "much better" than most other NHS trusts for a range of questions - and not worse than expected at all. Highlights included that patients felt strongly that midwifery staff "always listened to you" - that was one of the highest-scoring questions.
Other high scoring areas included for antenatal support and the advice given at the very beginning of labour.
Lesley Heelbeck, head of midwifery, said the survey results demonstrated "the quality of maternity services and the care with compassion philosophy that we provide". She added: ""The trust has been praised for its dedication to providing the highest possible quality of care to expectant mothers and families, with a focus on safety, information sharing and communication around their care. The results are even more important and meaningful when ratings are from the service users themselves.
“We are proud to have an experienced multi-disciplinary team of midwives, obstetricians, anaesthetists, support workers, and paediatricians, to name a few, who enable us to provide a comprehensive range of services to meet the individualised needs of all our service users.”
South Tyneside and Sunderland
The picture in South Tyneside and Sunderland was broadly in line with the national average - though the trust was praised for performance in some areas including how birthing partners were able to stay with them during time in hospital. Also praised was the manner in which decisions about how to feed a baby were considered.
However, in areas such as the support on offer for maternal mental health at ante-natal checkups was worse than expected. That said, the trust scored well for if midwifery staff asked about mental health following birth - and the trust has a range of plans in place to boost how it deals with the mental health of new mums.
County Durham and Darlington
The trust's best scores came when new mums were asked to comment on the care available from midwives following birth, and focussed around positive experiences of postnatal care. Overall, the trust scored statistically "about the same" as most others in the vast majority (48) questions, and worse than expected across just three.
However, County Durham and Darlington's maternity units rated much worse than expected when it came to how involved a partner was during labour and birth, and worse than expected when it came to the advice given around labour being induced.
Joanne Crawford Head of Midwifery at the trust, said it welcomed the report, adding: "We were pleased to see that women feel listened to and value the relationship with their midwife during their pregnancy and particularly their extended care into the postnatal period. Our maternity teams continue to work hard together to make improvements to our services and these results and feedback are important in helping us to shape our maternity services going forward for our communities.
"We accept the concerns raised around visiting restrictions which reflect the time this survey was carried out. In February 2022 our Covid rates were particularly high and we wanted to ensure the safety of our vulnerable patient’s mums and babies as much as possible. Our restrictions have eased significantly as Covid rates have declined."
She added that by analysing the results the trust was seeking to "make positive changes" and explaining that it was working with its Maternity Voices Partnership to produce an "action plan". Ms Crawford said: "We are not only looking at the areas of concern but also looking at the aspects where we can build on, to ensure the service we provide is the best it can be."
READ NEXT:
- Grieving Jesmond widower's fight for better dementia care after years caring for wife
- Newcastle hospitals 'reviewing visiting times' and want to know what patients and family members want
- Paramedics on the picket line in County Durham speak of striking as a 'last resort'
- 1 in 3 don't attend cervical screening in Newcastle - as charity urges Government to act
- NHS waiting lists in numbers: How many people are waiting for treatment in the North East and which operations take the longest
