The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has upgraded the rating of maternity services at Bradford Royal Infirmary from requires improvement to good, following an inspection in September.
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital services to people in Bradford and communities across Yorkshire. It serves a population of around 530,000 people and provides specialist services for around 1.2 million people in the region. The maternity unit at Bradford Royal Infirmary delivers approximately 6,000 babies every year.
CQC undertook the full inspection, following a previous inspection that looked at the safe and well-led domains only.
Following this inspection, CQC has upgraded the service’s effective and responsive ratings from requires improvement to good. Well-led, safe and caring have been rated as good again.
Linda Hirst, CQC deputy director of operations in the north-east, said:
“When we returned to Bradford Royal Infirmary, we were pleased to see improvements across their maternity service to ensure women and their babies are receiving the appropriate level of care they deserve. We found a service where most mothers and babies received good care and had complementary feedback to give on their birth experiences.
“It was positive that 41 newly qualified midwives had been recruited who commenced work in October and November to ensure there were enough staff to meet the needs of the service.
“Managers promoted a good safety culture where incidents were investigated, and learning was embedded to promote good practice and to prevent issues from happening again. Staff told us about feeling fully supported by leaders and were happy in their roles which had a positive knock on effect on people’s care.
“Women also told us staff in their birthing journey were discreet, respectful and responsive, providing them with help, emotional support and advice any time they needed it.
“Community midwives built trusted relationships with vulnerable and high-risk women to ensure they received safe care and were comfortable to approach them whenever needed throughout their pregnancies.
"There were areas where improvements are still needed. Leaders recognised one of their focus areas was to improve outcomes for women, especially considering deprivation level and ethnic background which can often impact negatively on birthing experiences. Case reviews, lessons learnt forums and a development of multi-agency action plans were in progress to improve performance in this area.
“We’ve shared our findings with the trust, so they know where there’s good practice to build on and where improvements are needed. Staff should be pleased with the service they’re providing, and we will continue to monitor the trust, to make sure the necessary improvements are made so women and people using the service continue to receive good care in future.”
Inspectors found:
- Staff used an electronic interpreting tool available in different languages to ensure any information given to women and their families was accessible.
- Women said staff gave assistance when needed in a timely manner, for example with personal care and breastfeeding.
- The service worked well with women to understand and manage risks or detect and control potential risks in the care environment.
- Leaders had plans to train additional maternity support workers to assist women who require support and advice with breastfeeding.
- Staff provided examples where they had made adjustments for women with physical disabilities, sight impairment, mental health concerns and learning disabilities.
- Staff knew how to recognise and report abuse and worked well with other agencies to keep people safe.
- Women felt involved in the care planning process and were encouraged and supported to raise concerns.
- Consent wasn’t always sought in line with guidance to ensure women were comfortable with any interventions. Leaders have invested in additional training for 40 staff and informed consent will be part of the mandated training programme from 2026.