Liverpool Women's Hospital

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Our rating of caring stayed the same. We rated caring as good.

Staff treated people with compassion, empathy and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity and took account of their individual needs and choices. Staff listened to people and treated them as individuals. The service had systems in place to support staff with their wellbeing, safe working and emotional support.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

People who used the service said they felt well cared for and everyone had been lovely and kind. A recent people experience survey found 94% of the people said they were treated with respect and dignity.

Staff said colleagues were supportive, and shift leaders and managers were visible, approachable, supportive, and kind. The staff described a ‘great’ working relationship between midwives, support workers and medical staff.

The maternity and neonatal voices partnership, which worked with service users, undertook a review in 2024 which found there were enough staff to support people, and staff were friendly, reassuring and comforting. People had been kept informed at every step about what was happening. Privacy and confidentiality had been maintained, and interpretation support was provided.

We observed staff being kind, encouraging, friendly and patient. We saw good communication. We observed kindness and compassion at the midwifery handover, which took place in a different area to maintain confidentiality.

We saw lots of ‘thank you’ cards around the areas we visited for the staff who worked in maternity services.

People who used the service told us they felt comfortable asking staff for help. Partners of post-natal women were allowed to visit between 11am and 8pm daily. This recently changed from partners being able to visit at any time following feedback from people using the service. However, managers told us carers could stay overnight if needed.

People told us they were happy with visiting times and a recent people survey had reported 82% of people said their partners was able to stay with them as long as they wanted. The survey reported 91% of the people said they had been involved in enough decisions about their care during labour and birth, and 90% said they were spoken to in a way they could understand. 95% said their partner or companion was involved during labour and birth.

Staff told us they would ask each person what their individual needs were and made sure all staff were informed. Staff showed us the patient information leaflets available on the internet and how to change the leaflets into any language required.

Information was available for those people with additional needs, and the use of the hospital passport was encouraged. Scan codes were visible on the walls in the ward areas for people to access information leaflets. People were offered acupuncture and aromatherapy at a pre-birth clinic.

For those people who had no access to technology, charitable services had provided pre-loaded sim cards and free tablets with access to the internet. A non-English speaking team (NEST) was available to care for people who did not speak English, this included midwives.

Interpretation services were offered to all including telephone, video, and face-to-face interpretation. A portable interpretation device A was available for everyone to use to aid communication. Staff said one interpreter on wheels was not enough on the maternity base ward, we saw staff and people using their own personal mobile phones to assist with communication. Most staff across the maternity services told us they could access interpreter services through hand-held devices and these were readily available.

Care records showed people’s individual needs had been identified. We saw evidence of reasonable adjustment planning for people with extra needs. The recent maternity survey (2024) had found 96% of respondents said they were given enough support for mental health during pregnancy.

People who used the service said they felt comfortable asking for help when they needed it, including any additional help, for example feeding advice. In a recent people survey 84% said they had been involved in decision making.

Staff told us a discussion took place with all people about where they wished to give birth and the ‘guideline for women considering or planning birth at home’ included information for people about this. The department provided information and visits to the department to help people to choose the best place to give birth. People who were high risk were asked to attend a birth choices clinic. If they wished to give birth in the midwifery led unit, they were informed that the labour unit and medical staff were available next door, if required.

We reviewed the electronic records of people and saw consent was an integral part of every step in peoples care and treatment.

People who used the service told us they received pain relief when they asked for it and did not have to wait. They told us they could use the call system and staff responded quickly. We observed staff respond to the call system and when people came to ask for help, staff acted promptly.

Staff were supported to ensure people’s needs were met with support from specialist staff including the bereavement team. Memory boxes and life certificates were provided. A blessing and addition of baby’s name to a memorial book were options for people. The service provided additional support for people with mental health needs, smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, domestic abuse and provided extra care and support for those whose circumstances may make them vulnerable.

Most staff told us they received good support from their line managers: their workload was manageable, and they had regular breaks during their shift. Managers told us they routinely engaged with staff and supported them with training and development opportunities to develop a positive team culture.

Staff could access employee support programmes for organisational development, counselling, health and wellbeing. The service had initiatives to support staff workloads, including flexible shift adjustments and allocation of staff duties to balance workload.

Staff regularly participated in supervision and debriefs to support their emotional well-being. Staff could access psychologist support, and a number of professional midwifery advocates were in place to provide support and advice for staff. Staff with prolonged sickness absence were supported through meetings with their line managers and human resources (HR) teams. The services promoted well-being activities, such as yoga and crafts.

Staff spoke positively about the wider support they received from the trust including access to occupational health, well-being and human resources support.