Worthing Hospital

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

We looked for evidence that the service met women’s needs. We looked for evidence that people and communities were always at the centre of how care was planned and delivered. We checked that the health and care needs of people and communities were understood, and they were actively involved in planning care that met these needs. We also looked for evidence that women could access care in ways that met their personal circumstances and protected equality characteristics.

We assessed all quality statements in this key question.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant women’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

Women were involved in decisions about their care. The service provided information women could understand. Women knew how to give feedback and were confident the service took it seriously and acted on it. The service worked to reduce health and care inequalities through training and feedback. Women were involved in planning their care and understood options around choosing to withdraw or not receive care.

We have not awarded this service a score for Responsive.

Find out about when we will not publish a key question score and what we look at when we assess Responsive.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service made sure women were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with women, how to respond to any relevant changes in women’s needs.

Most women we spoke with said staff provided clear information and support throughout their care. One woman told us, “Staff could not do enough for me” and that she “received the support she needed when required”. Another woman described the midwives as “lovely, caring and supportive”. Most women also told us that staff routinely checked on their emotional wellbeing and provided reassurance when needed.

The results of the CQC Maternity Survey 2025 showed that women were more likely than the national average to report being offered a choice about where to have their baby.

Women accessed maternity services either through referral from their GP or by self-referral. Staff encouraged women to self-refer before nine weeks of pregnancy to ensure timely access to screening and early care.

Women assessed as low risk had the option to give birth at home or on the hospital labour ward. The service did not provide a Midwife Led Unit (MLU) at Worthing Hospital. However, women could choose to receive midwife-led care at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester, where an MLU was available.

The service operated a 24-hour telephone triage line, 7 days a week, which allowed women to speak directly with a midwife about any concerns. This gave women reassurance and timely access to professional advice whenever they needed it.

The service employed a range of specialist midwives to support women with diverse needs. These included roles in practice development, perinatal mental health, infant feeding, bereavement support, pelvic health, and safeguarding. This multidisciplinary approach helped to ensure women received personalised and holistic care throughout their maternity journey.

Staff made efforts to create a calm and supportive environment within birthing rooms on the labour ward. They used soft lighting, music, birthing balls and battery-operated tealights to promote relaxation. Positive birth affirmation materials were displayed to encourage confidence and emotional wellbeing. Birthing pools were also available on the delivery suite for pain relief, although these were accessed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Staff developed a dedicated ‘latent phase room’ on the delivery suite to better support women in the early stages of labour. Latent phase of labour is defined as a period of time, not necessarily continuous, when there are painful contractions and there are some early cervical changes. They recognised that some women did not feel comfortable remaining at home during this phase for various reasons including the need to reduce their anxiety and manage their pain. The service had designed the room to provide a calm, reassuring and ‘home-from-home’ environment. Women could access a birthing pool for pain relief, benefit from dimmed lighting, and rest in a more relaxed setting while receiving support from midwives. This approach showed a compassionate understanding of women’s emotional and physical needs during early labour and aimed to promote comfort, dignity and a sense of safety.

Staff told us they completed personalised care plans for women and birthing people based on their individual needs and preferences. We saw care plans reflected this and were discussed during staff handovers.

Leaders used a nationally recognised acuity tool to calculate the required number of midwives needed in the service, including the number needed to maintain 1-to-1 care in labour, and continuity of care during the antenatal and postnatal periods. Leaders told us that this had been calculated based on the specific needs and acuity of the local population.

Staff ran a pregnancy wellbeing clinic for women that had a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above. Staff told us that the clinics were set up to help women stay healthy during pregnancy and covered healthy eating in a friendly and non-judgmental way.

Staff were proud of the ‘hope boxes’ that the service had introduced for women who would be legally separated from their babies after birth. These contained items from the baby and mother, such as the baby’s blanket so that the scent could help the women feel connected to their baby. Inside the box was a positive affirmation which said ‘hold on, pain eases’.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service understood the diverse health and care needs of women and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

The service met many of the individual needs of women and people using the service. Midwives assessed women’s emotional wellbeing during antenatal appointments and signposted them to appropriate support services for anxiety, depression or concerns relating to pregnancy and birth. This helped women access additional support when needed and informed their birth choices.

Staff had access to emergency mental health support 24 hours a day, seven days a week for women with mental health needs or learning disabilities. The service employed specialist roles, including mental health midwives and bereavement midwives, who provided additional care and intervention for women requiring enhanced support.

Midwives referred women to the birth reflections service where appropriate. This service gave women the opportunity to discuss their birth experience and ask questions following delivery, which supported emotional wellbeing and understanding.

The Maternity survey 2025 showed that when women were asked about their mental health the service scored 8.4, which was just below the national average of 8.6 when compared to all other trusts in England.

The service scored 9, the same as the national average when women were asked if they were given enough support during their pregnancy for their mental health.

The service allocated women a named midwife and provided a contact number at booking. When required, leaders also allocated a named consultant for women identified as higher risk or those admitted to hospital. Women told us staff offered flexibility with antenatal and postnatal appointments, and staff took a proactive approach to arranging care that met the needs of women and their partners.

Dedicated triage midwives assessed risks via telephone and directed women to the most appropriate care pathway at the right time. This included providing advice and guidance during both antenatal and postnatal periods.

However, the service did not consistently maintain all aspects of personalised care. Community midwives previously provided an on-call homebirth service, where a midwife would usually remain with the woman throughout labour, including if transfer to hospital was required. At the time of assessment, the service had temporarily suspended homebirth provision due to staffing pressures, and staff had been redeployed to support hospital wards. Data showed the service suspended homebirth provision 12 times between March 2025 and February 2026. This meant some women could not always access their preferred choice of birth setting.

The service did not offer continuity of care pathways at the time of the assessment. Better Births: Improving outcomes of maternity services in England – A Five Year Forward View for maternity care, set out a clear recommendation that the NHS should roll out continuity of carer, to ensure safer care based on a relationship of mutual trust and respect between women and their midwives. Leaders told us there was a continuity of care team business plan in draft that had not yet been presented to the board, as a result leaders told us this could not be shared.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

The 2025 CQC maternity survey showed that the trust performed better than expected compared with other trusts when women were asked whether staff spoke to them in a way they could understand during labour and birth. This showed staff adapted their communication effectively and supported women to feel informed and involved during their care.

Midwives identified women who required interpretation services at the point of booking and ensured staff were aware of these needs prior to admission. Staff arranged interpreting support in advance, which was usually provided face to face. Where this was not available, staff accessed telephone interpretation services to ensure women could still communicate effectively and understand their care.

Staff provided women with access to a range of relevant information leaflets across maternity wards and departments. Leaflets included information on how to access translations in other languages, which supported accessibility. Staff printed translated materials as required, which demonstrated a flexible approach to meeting individual communication needs.

The trust website contained video links on guides to finding and translating leaflets.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. They involved women in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

Women we spoke with understood how to raise a complaint about the service and described accessible processes for doing so.

The service recorded 22 complaints regarding maternity services at Worthing between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026. The most common themes identified were clinical care, communication and patient care. Leaders monitored trends to identify areas for improvement and inform service development. An example of this was adopting a new regionally developed hyperemesis gravidarum management guidance which included more collaborative management and cross service monitoring. Hyperemesis gravidarum is a severe form of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

Leaders reported that, of the 22 complaints, 3 remained open at the time of the assessment. Two of these were within the trust’s response timeframe and were not yet due for completion. The remaining complaint had exceeded the deadline due to its complexity.

For complaints that had been closed, the service recorded an average response time of 47 working days, with response times ranging from 1 day to 99 days.

The trust had a ‘voice of the user’ section on their maternity dashboard. The service monitored themes from women and their families such as the number of complaints received, Friends and Family Test results and Maternity Voice Partnership meetings held.

Data from the 2025 CQC maternity survey showed that the trust performed in line with other trusts when women were asked whether staff took their concerns seriously once raised.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

The hospital site was accessible for women and their families. Staff ensured a manned reception desk was available to provide guidance and direct people who were unfamiliar with the layout. Clear signage and lift access supported ease of navigation throughout the site. The car park included designated blue badge spaces for people with disabilities, which supported equitable access.

Staff identified women with higher-risk factors, such as a body mass index above 30, at the booking appointment and offered additional support tailored to their individual needs. This approach helped make sure women received appropriate care and monitoring throughout their pregnancy.

The service supported women to plan for their care and discharge. For example, staff provided a planned discharge date at the time of booking for elective caesarean sections. This allowed women to make arrangements for support at home and contributed to a smoother and more coordinated discharge experience. The service had a joined-up approach to discharge and referred women where necessary. For example, women could see on the ward or be referred to physiotherapist following perineal trauma during birth.

The service monitored access to early antenatal care, including booking appointments before 10 weeks of pregnancy. Trust data showed that, between September 2025 and February 2026, an average of 68.75% of women received their booking appointment within this timeframe. The NHS guidance is for a first midwife appointment (also called the booking appointment) to be before the woman is 10 weeks pregnant. This is because some tests may need to be done before 10 weeks. The trust performed better in comparison to the national average for this. It was unclear whether the service was in the process of improving access for women.

Early access to care was important to ensure women received timely screening, tests and interventions in early pregnancy. However, the trust had not set a target for this measure. As a result, leaders could not clearly demonstrate whether performance met expected standards or how it compared to national benchmarks. This limited assurance that the service consistently provided timely access to care.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

Leaders monitored outcomes and analysed demographic data to identify variation in treatment and outcomes for different groups of women. They used this information to recognise potential inequalities and inform targeted service improvements.

Equity of experience remained a standing agenda item at divisional quality meetings, which supported oversight and accountability. Leaders worked in partnership with the Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP), who contributed to this work and helped ensure that services reflected the needs of diverse populations.

The service also worked with the MNVP to deliver a ‘Lesser Heard Voices’ listening event, which focused on gathering feedback from Turkish, Bengali and Arabic women about their experiences of maternity and neonatal care. Leaders used this engagement to better understand the perspectives of communities who may be underrepresented. This approach showed a clear commitment to inclusion and equity. Leaders used feedback from diverse groups to inform service development and improve how care met the needs of the local population.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future.

Staff supported women to make informed choices that promoted their health and wellbeing, including smoking cessation and healthy lifestyle behaviours. They encouraged women to take an active role in their care and provided guidance tailored to individual needs.

The service provided access to a women’s physiotherapy team, with the intention that all women received a review prior to discharge. This ensured early intervention and ongoing support where required. Physiotherapists assessed and treated women who had sustained third or fourth degree tears during childbirth, helping to support recovery and improve long-term outcomes.

Midwives who were bereavement leads, delivered and supported staff to deliver compassionate, individualised care to women and their families during times of loss. They made every effort to respect and meet cultural and personal wishes. Staff provided memory boxes, sourced through local charities, to support grieving families, and ensured culturally appropriate clothing was available for babies who had died. The bereavement leads demonstrated empathy and sensitivity when leading difficult conversations and provided emotional support to both families and staff during these challenging experiences.