The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated maternity services at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead good, following an inspection in February.
The inspection at the hospital, which is run by Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, was carried out as part of CQC’s national maternity services inspection programme. This will provide an up-to-date view of the quality of hospital maternity care across the country, and a better understanding of what is working well to support learning and improvement.
This is the first time maternity services at Queen Elizabeth Hospital have been rated as a standalone core service. Previously, maternity and gynaecology services were inspected and rated together.
Following this inspection, the overall rating for maternity services has been rated as good. It has also been rated as good for being safe and well-led. Effective, caring and responsive were not looked at during this inspection therefore remain unrated.
Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC’s deputy director of secondary and specialist healthcare, said:
“When we visited maternity services at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, we found a well-led service, which people could access when they needed it and didn’t have to wait too long for treatment.
“Inspectors found staff were focused on the needs of women and people using the service to ensure they received a high standard of care. It was reassuring that we saw them assess risks to people and took action to remove or minimise them. They also acted quickly when someone’s health was at risk of deterioration.
“We saw a service that had an open culture where women, people using the service, their families and staff could raise concerns without fear. Also, we saw a great example of the trust improving the culture for people with learning disabilities. They invited people with learning disabilities to work with the department to help improve services and staff attitudes for these people. The service also welcomed learning disability nursing students to gain a wider learning and understanding of the care being delivered.
“The whole trust should be proud of the standard of care they’re providing to women and people using the service, and we hope they can build on this. We’ll continue to monitor the service, including through future inspections, to ensure people continue to receive good care.”
Inspectors found the following:
- Staff worked well together, understood how to protect people from abuse, and managed safety well
- Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent
- It engaged well with people using the service as well as the community to plan and manage services
- Safety incidents were managed well and lessons were learnt from them
- The service-controlled infection risk well
- Staff assessed risks to people, acted on them and kept good care records. They managed medicines well
- Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of people receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities.