A Care Quality Commission report rated maternity services at Basildon and Southend hospitals as “requires improvement” – the second lowest possible rating.
Inspectors highlighted a shortage of staff at both hospitals potentially putting woman and babies at risk, but bosses at the Mid and South Essex NHS Trust have said the vacancy rate in nursing and midwifery is just 5.4 per cent.
Criticism – Unison’s Joyce Aldridge has criticised the Mid and South Essex Trust (Image: Unison)
This is the lowest the trust “has ever seen it”. But Unison has claimed workers have “repeatedly raised concerns” and urged the trust to “radically turn things around”.
Unison Basildon, Southend and mid Essex health branch secretary Joyce Aldridge said: “Maternity workers have repeatedly raised concerns about safety procedures and staffing levels but things haven’t been getting better.
“There’s a national shortage of midwives but Mid and South Essex Trust is not doing enough to keep staff in south Essex. They’re burnt out and feel under-valued.
“Unless the trust radically turns things around, maternity services, and the families who use them, are going to continue to suffer.
Slammed – Save Southend NHS have criticised hospital bosses (Image: SSNHS)
“Unison wants to work with the trust to improve experiences for staff and patients.”
The trust has emphasised that since the inspection at the start of 2024, significant improvements have been made, staffing levels have increased and the culture has improved with staff.
Bosses have also insisted staff can contact the CEO anytime and there are monthly “meet the chief” meetings.
Freddie Dawkins, founder of Save Southend NHS, said: “Save Southend NHS is aware of the dire leadership and performance of the trust executives which continues to impact on the staff working and patient safety in both maternity units.
“Staff frequently report that patients are being put at risk and this is resulting in even worse staffing issues due to the stress of trying to work in these conditions, resulting in high sick rates and staff leaving.”
Sweeping changes made to improve maternity
SWEEPING changes have been made in the wake of inspections which raised a host of concerns about maternity services in south Essex.
A report published yesterday has highlighted a Care Quality Commission inspector’s concerns around a lack of staffing at both hospitals, a shortage of equipment at Basildon, as well as lack of triage services at Southend.
Staffing levels have drastically improved since and the vacancy rate in the maternity departments is at its lowest in three years.
Between September and November, 25 newly qualified midwives have been employed across the hospitals and the vacancy rate is at 5.4 per cent – below the national average.
At Southend Hospital’s maternity ward, issues with hot water were identified but were resolved in April 2024 and no further problems have been reported since.
Since the inspection, Southend now has a dedicated midwife answering the triage phone seven days a week.
Fetal monitoring equipment is regularly checked and available in the triage ward, while all other equipment has been tested.
Diane Sarkar, chief nursing and quality officer for Mid and South Essex, said: “We are committed to providing high-quality, safe maternity care. However, this rating is not where we want to be, and we are working hard to improve.”
The hospital also has a Freedom to Speak Up scheme for staff.