11 November 2013
During a routine inspection
We spoke with four women at the birth centre. They told us they had been asked for their consent before any treatment was provided. They confirmed that the midwives had explained and allowed time for questions to be asked.
We also spoke with four patients attending the out patients clinic. They all told us that the care they had received was very good. One person said, "the staff know what they are doing.'
The birth centre had four delivery rooms and 15 - 27 babies were delivered every month. We saw that the centre was clean and provided a pleasant environment.
One woman who had recently given birth said, 'the midwife did not leave me while I was in labour.' and felt there were enough staff available to meet their needs. We spoke with the director of nursing who explained that the trust had risk assessed the staffing levels and continued to monitor them to ensure the staffing skill mix was appropriate for the needs of the women who used the service.
We saw the birth centre was taking part in the NHS friends and family test, 'would you recommend this service to your friends and family.' This meant that every woman was able to give feedback on the quality of the care they received and allowed the service to better understand the needs of woman and enable improvements.