A North East hospital's maternity unit has been given a glowing review by inspectors - with its work to help improve NHS care for people with learning disabilities singled out for praise.
Maternity at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead has retained its "good" rating from Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors following a visit in February. This sees the QE buck a trend which has seen numerous CQC downgrades across the UK - including in the North East.
Already this year inspectors have raised concerns about maternity services at Sunderland Royal and the RVI - but as part of a national maternity inspection programme, services in Gateshead have received a positive report card. Inspectors highlighted how services were "well-led", that staff acted quickly to manage risks to patients and that they received a "high standard of care".
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Hospital bosses have also welcomed the news, saying that there were "some areas of outstanding practice which we are especially proud of".
The CQC's Carolyn Jenkinson, the regulator's deputy director of secondary and specialist healthcare, said: "When we visited maternity services at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, we found a well-led service, which people could access when they needed it and didn’t have to wait too long for treatment.
"Inspectors found staff were focused on the needs of women and people using the service to ensure they received a high standard of care. It was reassuring that we saw them assess risks to people and took action to remove or minimise them. They also acted quickly when someone’s health was at risk of deterioration."
Ms Jenkinson added that the inspection team found an "open culture" where those using the service, their families and staff could "raise concerns without fear". The inspectors also singled out work with people who have learning disabilities, saying: "They invited people with learning disabilities to work with the department to help improve services and staff attitudes for these people."
She continued: "The whole trust should be proud of the standard of care they’re providing to women and people using the service, and we hope they can build on this. We’ll continue to monitor the service, including through future inspections, to ensure people continue to receive good care."
Other positives identified included staff working well together, that the service engaged well with the community, while infection risk was controlled well. Staff also reported feeling respected, supported and valued.
Gill Findley, deputy chief executive, chief nurse and lead for midwifery and allied health professionals said: "I am delighted that the maternity services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital have been rated as ‘good’ overall following inspections by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in February this year. As part of this review, we were rated as ‘good’ for services being well-led and for services being safe."
Ms Findley said the team were especially pleased with praise for work of diabetes specialist midwives, a "grab bag" project supporting vulnerable people giving birth who may be fleeing domestic violence, and for its antenatal support.
She added: "The report also highlighted how well the maternity team work together for the benefit of women and birthing people. Our team continues to be dedicated to delivering excellent care to families and we remain committed to doing so.
"We will continue to develop and improve the services so we can provide high quality and safe care to all women and birthing people. We encourage all families that use our services to share their opinions and feedback as we use these to constantly improve our maternity service."
