Good Hope Hospital

Ratings - Maternity

• Overall

  Requires improvement

• Safe

  Requires improvement

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Good

• Responsive

  Requires improvement

• Well-led

  Requires improvement

Our view of the service

This assessment was conducted to follow up on concerns and breaches of regulation identified during our previous assessment published in June 2023. At that inspection we reviewed safe and well-led key questions. The other key questions were last inspected in 2019.

We reviewed 25 quality statements across the 5 key questions: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive, and Well-led. The ratings for these areas have been combined with those from the previous assessment to determine the overall rating.

We identified 2 breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, in relation to Regulation 12: Safe care and treatment and Regulation 17: Good Governance. Key issues included delays in triage and care, incomplete or inaccurate care records, the absence of appropriate risk assessments, and ineffective use of governance systems.

Despite these concerns, we observed improvements in the service's culture since our last visit. Although the service and its staff strived for a positive safety culture, this was not always maintained. Not all incidents were being reported although when they were, they were investigated and learning shared to support good practice. However, many were significantly delayed. People were treated with kindness and compassion, their preferences were respected, and they were actively involved in decisions about their care.

Leadership was strong, with visible, knowledgeable, and supportive leaders who encouraged staff development. Staff demonstrated a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. There was a culture of continuous improvement, with staff given time and support to explore new ideas.

The service was receiving support from NHS England to drive improvements in safety and quality.

We refer to women in this report, but we recognise some transgender men, non-binary people, and people with variations in sex characteristics or who are intersex may also use services and experience some of the same issues.

People's experience of this service

People were mostly positive about the staff treating them with warmth and kindness and providing effective care and treatment. People said they did not feel anxious about raising concerns. 

Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP) had spoken to people around concerns over communication, decision making, and support some had experienced. The MNVP action plan was created in response to CQC Maternity Survey data 2022 (Published 2023) and continues to be an open action plan. The MNVP had supported the service to develop a birth reflections service.