Latest news with #neonatalservices
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New maternity investigation to look at 10 ‘worst services'
A new maternity investigation is set to focus on the 10 'worst performing' maternity services in England. Leeds and Sussex maternity services will be examined as part of the investigation, officials confirmed after Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced a national investigation into maternity services. There have been a series of maternity scandals in recent years, with official reviews launched into a number of services including those in Nottingham; East Kent; Shrewsbury and Telford and Morecambe Bay. Officials said these independent reviews found similar failings in compassionate care – including the failure to listen to women, concerns over safety and issues with leadership and culture. Bereaved families in other areas have also called for their own inquiries, including families in Sussex, Leeds and Oxford. The Department of Health and Social Care said the new investigation will consist of two parts. The first will investigate up to 10 of the most concerning maternity and neonatal units, including Sussex, in the coming weeks to give affected families answers as quickly as possible, according to the Department of Health. The second will be a 'system-wide' look at maternity and neonatal care, uniting lessons from past maternity inquiries to create one clear set of actions designed to improve national NHS care. Officials have confirmed there will be local reviews into services in Leeds and Sussex, with the other areas to be confirmed 'shortly'. The Department of Health and Social Care said that during the next month NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey and chief nursing officer Duncan Burton will meet the trusts of greatest concern, including Leeds, Gloucester, Mid and South Essex and Sussex. It is expected that during these meetings the top NHS officials will 'hold them to account for improvement'. 📢 National maternity and neonatal investigation to be launched Too many families have suffered preventable harm. The investigation will urgently look at services with specific issues and the entire maternity system, making sure each family receives safe and compassionate care. — Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) June 23, 2025 Wes Streeting said he would be looking at individual cases of families in Leeds and Sussex who suffered from NHS failures. Speaking at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists conference in London, he said: 'We'll bring in a package of measures to start taking action now, increasing accountability across the board, and bringing in the cultural change we need to see. 'Within the next month, the NHS chief executive, Jim Mackey, and the chief nursing officer, Duncan Burton, will meet the trusts of greatest concern, including Leeds, Gloucester, Mid and South Essex and Sussex, to hold them to account for improvement.' He added: 'I'm currently discussing with Leeds families the best way to grip the challenges brought to light in that trust by their campaigning, reports in the media and the latest CQC report, and I'll be ordering an investigation into nine specific cases identified by families in Sussex who are owed a thorough account of what happened in those cases.' A spokesperson for Families Failed by OUH Maternity Services – a campaign calling for an investigation into maternity services at Oxford University Hospitals – said: 'We are pleased to see Wes Streeting launch a national investigation into maternity services – it is vital and long overdue. 'We urge him to include Oxford University Hospitals Trust as one of the 10 units. 'Over 500 Oxfordshire families who have suffered serious harm in the care of OUH maternity services have joined together to raise awareness of the devastating failures happening in the trust – highlighting the need for an investigation.' The NHS paid out £2.8 billion in compensation last year, with 41% of all payouts related to maternity care, according to data obtained by the Liberal Democrats from the House of Commons Library which was published earlier this year.
Sky News
20-06-2025
- Health
- Sky News
'Significant risk' posed to women and babies at two NHS hospitals in Leeds, regulator finds
Maternity and neonatal services at two Leeds hospitals have been rated inadequate over safety issues, the NHS regulator has said. An investigation by the Care and Quality Commission (CQC) said maternity services at Leeds General Infirmary and St James's University Hospital have fallen from an overall rating of good to inadequate after unannounced inspections in December and January. Whistleblowers, service users and their families raised concerns to the CQC about the quality of care for mothers and babies at the two hospitals - both part of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The regulator found breaches in several areas across the hospitals and their departments, including dirty areas in maternity wards that put people at risk of infection, medicines being stored unsafely, and issues around a "blame culture" that meant staff stayed quiet about concerns. At both Leeds hospitals' neonatal services, the CQC found leaders had not ensured adequate staff levels with the right qualifications and skills, there was no designated private space for breastfeeding, and equipment was not secured safely. Ann Ford, the CQC's director of operations in the north, said the concerns raised "were substantiated, and this posed a significant risk to the safety of women, people using these services, and their babies as the staff shortages impacted on the timeliness of the care and support they received". She added that while staff were working hard to provide good care, "leaders weren't listening to them" when they identified areas of concern. Ms Ford also noted that babies were transferred between the two hospitals "when it wasn't safe for them to do so". The CQC said the two hospitals' neonatal services were inadequate, as they were rated as standalone services for the first time. The overall rating for Leeds General Infirmary was downgraded from good to requires improvement, and St James's University Hospital remains rated as requires improvement. The overall rating for the trust remains rated as good. Last year, a parliamentary inquiry found there was "shockingly poor quality" in maternity services, and good care was "the exception rather than the rule". Former health minister Maria Caulfield told Sky News at the time that maternity services had not been where they should be and apologised to mothers who had been affected. 2:02 How has NHS trust responded? Professor Phil Wood, chief executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said the CQC findings "have highlighted significant areas where we need to improve our maternity and neonatal services, and my priority is to make sure we urgently take action to deliver these improvements". "I want to reassure every family due to have their baby with us in Leeds and any new parents that we are absolutely committed to providing safe, compassionate care," he added. "We deliver more than 8,500 babies each year and the vast majority of those are safe and positive experiences for our families. But we recognise that's not the experience of all families. "The loss of any baby is a tragedy, and I am extremely sorry to the families who have lost their babies when receiving care in our hospitals." Prof Wood said the trust has already started making improvements to its services by recruiting 55 midwives since last autumn, while a further 35 newly qualified midwives are due to start later this year. More midwifery leadership roles have also been appointed to support clinical teams, he added.
The Independent
19-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Maternity services in Leeds NHS hospitals downgraded by healthcare regulator
Two maternity services at NHS hospitals in Leeds have seen specific areas of care downgraded by the healthcare regulator for the first time since its founding. Services at Leeds General Infirmary and St James's University Hospital have dropped from an overall rating of good to inadequate after an investigation by the Care and Quality Commission (CQC) into reported issues with the quality of care. Unannounced inspections of maternity and neonatal services at the two hospitals, which come under Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, were made in December and January after whistleblowers, service users and their families raised concerns. It is the first time the CQC has given specific ratings for the sub-department categories of effective, caring and responsive for maternity care as a standalone service. Specific categories for 'safe and well-led' were downgraded to inadequate, while 'effective and caring' was rated as requires improvement and 'responsive' was rated as good. The CQC also rated the two hospitals' neonatal services as inadequate, as they were rated as standalone services for the first time. The regulator found breaches in several areas across the hospitals and their departments. Among the issues identified in maternity wards were dirty areas that put people at risk of infection, medicines being stored unsafely and issues around a 'blame culture' that meant staff stayed quiet about concerns. In neonatal services at both hospitals, leaders had not ensured adequate staff levels with the right qualifications and skills, while there was no designated private space for breastfeeding and equipment was not secured safely, the report said. Ann Ford, CQC's director of operations in the North, said: 'Prior to our visit, we had received a number of concerns from staff, people using the services and their families about the quality of care being delivered, including staff shortages in maternity at both hospitals. 'During the inspection, the concerns were substantiated, and this posed a significant risk to the safety of women, people using these services, and their babies as the staff shortages impacted on the timeliness of the care and support they received.' Ms Ford said staff in the hospitals were working hard to provide good care to patients but 'leaders weren't listening to them' when they identified areas of concern, while she said the fact investigations were not always carried out after incidents had taken place was 'concerning'. Babies were also being transferred between the two hospitals 'when it wasn't safe for them to do so', she added. The overall rating for Leeds General Infirmary declined from good to requires improvement and St James's University Hospital remains rated as requires improvement. The overall rating for the trust remains rated as good. The CQC has told Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to submit a plan showing what action it is taking in response to these concerns. Katie Warner, an expert medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell's Leeds office, said the findings would 'understandably cause significant anxiety for families'. 'Our clients have long-held concerns that previous CQC inspection ratings didn't accurately reflect the care on the ground families received, and things were worse than thought,' she said. 'Now that both services have been downgraded overall, our clients are now starting to feel listened to. However, the new ratings also raise serious questions about the standard of care being provided to families.' Professor Phil Wood, chief executive of the trust, said: 'These reports have highlighted significant areas where we need to improve our maternity and neonatal services, and my priority is to make sure we urgently take action to deliver these improvements. 'I want to reassure every family due to have their baby with us in Leeds and any new parents that we are absolutely committed to providing safe, compassionate care. 'We deliver more than 8,500 babies each year and the vast majority of those are safe and positive experiences for our families. But we recognise that's not the experience of all families. 'The loss of any baby is a tragedy, and I am extremely sorry to the families who have lost their babies when receiving care in our hospitals.' Professor Wood said the trust had 'fantastic teams of dedicated, compassionate staff in our maternity and neonatal services', and thanked those who had spoken 'openly and honestly' with the CQC during their inspections. He added: 'I recognise we need to be better at listening to our staff and acting on their concerns and I'm sorry we have fallen short on this. 'I want to reassure staff that they can speak up and will be heard in a supportive way.' The trust has already started making improvements to its services by recruiting 55 midwives since last autumn, while a further 35 newly qualified midwives are due to start later this year and more midwifery leadership roles have been appointed to support our clinical teams, the professor said.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Maternity services in Leeds NHS hospitals downgraded by healthcare regulator
Two maternity services at NHS hospitals in Leeds have seen specific areas of care downgraded by the healthcare regulator for the first time since its founding. Services at Leeds General Infirmary and St James's University Hospital have dropped from an overall rating of good to inadequate after an investigation by the Care and Quality Commission (CQC) into reported issues with the quality of care. Unannounced inspections of maternity and neonatal services at the two hospitals, which come under Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, were made in December and January after whistleblowers, service users and their families raised concerns. It is the first time the CQC has given specific ratings for the sub-department categories of effective, caring and responsive for maternity care as a standalone service. Specific categories for 'safe and well-led' were downgraded to inadequate, while 'effective and caring' was rated as requires improvement and 'responsive' was rated as good. The CQC also rated the two hospitals' neonatal services as inadequate, as they were rated as standalone services for the first time. The regulator found breaches in several areas across the hospitals and their departments. Among the issues identified in maternity wards were dirty areas that put people at risk of infection, medicines being stored unsafely and issues around a 'blame culture' that meant staff stayed quiet about concerns. In neonatal services at both hospitals, leaders had not ensured adequate staff levels with the right qualifications and skills, while there was no designated private space for breastfeeding and equipment was not secured safely, the report said. Ann Ford, CQC's director of operations in the North, said: 'Prior to our visit, we had received a number of concerns from staff, people using the services and their families about the quality of care being delivered, including staff shortages in maternity at both hospitals. 'During the inspection, the concerns were substantiated, and this posed a significant risk to the safety of women, people using these services, and their babies as the staff shortages impacted on the timeliness of the care and support they received.' Ms Ford said staff in the hospitals were working hard to provide good care to patients but 'leaders weren't listening to them' when they identified areas of concern, while she said the fact investigations were not always carried out after incidents had taken place was 'concerning'. Babies were also being transferred between the two hospitals 'when it wasn't safe for them to do so', she added. The overall rating for Leeds General Infirmary declined from good to requires improvement and St James's University Hospital remains rated as requires improvement. The overall rating for the trust remains rated as good. The CQC has told Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to submit a plan showing what action it is taking in response to these concerns. Katie Warner, an expert medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell's Leeds office, said the findings would 'understandably cause significant anxiety for families'. 'Our clients have long-held concerns that previous CQC inspection ratings didn't accurately reflect the care on the ground families received, and things were worse than thought,' she said. 'Now that both services have been downgraded overall, our clients are now starting to feel listened to. However, the new ratings also raise serious questions about the standard of care being provided to families.' Professor Phil Wood, chief executive of the trust, said: 'These reports have highlighted significant areas where we need to improve our maternity and neonatal services, and my priority is to make sure we urgently take action to deliver these improvements. 'I want to reassure every family due to have their baby with us in Leeds and any new parents that we are absolutely committed to providing safe, compassionate care. 'We deliver more than 8,500 babies each year and the vast majority of those are safe and positive experiences for our families. But we recognise that's not the experience of all families. 'The loss of any baby is a tragedy, and I am extremely sorry to the families who have lost their babies when receiving care in our hospitals.' Professor Wood said the trust had 'fantastic teams of dedicated, compassionate staff in our maternity and neonatal services', and thanked those who had spoken 'openly and honestly' with the CQC during their inspections. He added: 'I recognise we need to be better at listening to our staff and acting on their concerns and I'm sorry we have fallen short on this. 'I want to reassure staff that they can speak up and will be heard in a supportive way.' The trust has already started making improvements to its services by recruiting 55 midwives since last autumn, while a further 35 newly qualified midwives are due to start later this year and more midwifery leadership roles have been appointed to support our clinical teams, the professor said.
