Both Southend and Basildon hospital’s maternity services have been re-rated as “requires improvement “ after inspections between January and March last year.
Bosses at the Mid and South Essex NHS Trust have insisted staffing levels on maternity wards at both hospitals have significantly improved since inspectors found the shortage of staff “could impact the safety of women and their babies”.
Despite the “requires improvement” overall rating, both hospitals were rated “good” in terms of responsiveness, while Southend was also rated “good” in the caring inspection category.
At the time of the inspection, inspectors found Southend Hospital’s maternity ward had a “lack of hot water”, shortage of adequate triage cover and a direct line to a midwife while issues with staffing levels that did not match numbers needed to “ensure safety.”
At Basildon Hospital, staff told inspectors there were “not enough permanent staff” and audits were not always being carried out regularly.
Inspectors also found there was “not enough suitable equipment to meet the needs of patients and families”. This included some areas lacking enough fetal monitoring equipment.
The Mid and South Essex Trust has insisted since the inspections all issues have been addressed, including a “significant” improvement to staffing, a dedicated midwife answering the triage phone introduced, and all equipment has now been tested and is available.
Hazel Roberts, CQC deputy director of operations in the East of England, said: “When we inspected maternity services at Basildon Hospital and Southend Hospital, we were concerned to find gaps in staffing levels, which could impact the safety of women, people using the services, and their babies. There were some shortages of permanent staff at both hospitals, however leaders had put systems in place to reduce risks to people.
“This meant people’s needs couldn’t always be identified and met as quickly as possible, putting them at risk. Leaders were aware of these issues and had plans in place to address them. It was positive to hear that staff were open and honest with people when safety incidents happened, and felt safe raising concerns to leaders.”
Women using the services reported being treated with kindness.