Queen's Hospital

Ratings

• Overall

  Requires improvement

• Safe

  Requires improvement

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Good

• Responsive

  Requires improvement

• Well-led

  Requires improvement

Our view of the service

We carried out this unannounced comprehensive inspection of maternity services at Queen’s Hospital on 8 and 9 October 2024 in response to ongoing concerns about the safety, quality, and governance of care. This inspection was conducted following intelligence indicating ongoing risks within the service.

We inspected all five key questions: safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led. We visited all clinical areas within the maternity unit, including the antenatal clinic, triage, antenatal and postnatal wards, Coral ward, the high dependency unit, the labour ward, and the midwifery-led birth centre. We did not inspect community midwifery services as these were not within the scope of this inspection. Following the inspection, we have highlighted concerns identified in relation to safety and governance. In response, the trust took immediate actions to mitigate risks, including increasing medical staffing in triage and strengthening infection prevention measures.

Our rating of the maternity service remains as requires improvement. The rating for safe and well-led remains requires improvement. The effective, caring, and responsive domains were rated as good.

How we carried out the inspection: The inspection team included CQC inspectors, a midwifery specialist advisor, and an obstetrician specialist advisor. The team spent time on site at the registered location and conducted a review of evidence submitted by the trust. We also carried out interviews with senior leaders following the inspection. During the inspection, we spoke with a range of staff including midwives, doctors, matrons, and service leads. We reviewed clinical records, policies, audits, risk registers, and governance documentation. We also spoke with women using the service and reviewed patient feedback. You can find further information about how we carry out our inspections on our website: https://www.cqc.org.uk/what-we-do/how-we-do-our-job/what-we-do-inspection