Maternity unit at Croydon University Hospital rated as "requires improvement"
Focused inspection from CQC highlights concerns in maternity triage and staff training
Last updated 10th Apr 2026
The Care Quality Commission has rated maternity services at Croydon University Hospital as requiring improvement following an inspection last year.
The hospital, managed by Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, serves the maternity care needs of Croydon and Southwest London.
Concerns over long waits in maternity triage, staff communication, and staffing levels, particularly in medical coverage, prompted the focused inspection.
Subsequently, the CQC issued a warning notice to the trust regarding issues in triage, staff training and appraisal, risk assessments, record keeping, equipment checks, and leadership.
The overall maternity services rating fell from good to requires improvement.
However, the ratings for how well-led and caring remained good.
The previous ratings for effective and responsive were not reassessed and remain good.
Antoinette Smith, CQC deputy director of hospitals in London, highlighted the strengths and shortcomings of the service.
"When we inspected maternity services at Croydon University Hospital, we found many skilled and dedicated staff who women described as caring, compassionate and professional," Smith said.
"However, safety had declined in some areas since our previous inspection and leaders must now focus on making the necessary improvements."
The inspection revealed concerns around triage and delays in labor induction processes.
Notably, there was no dedicated midwife for the triage telephone line, contradicting national guidelines.
There were significant delays in labor induction, with many women waiting over four hours between admission and induction beginning.
Although the trust had an action plan, it wasn’t fully implemented at the time of inspection.
Leaders need to improve areas such as managing risk assessments, checking records and equipment, and ensuring staff undertake necessary training.
Additionally, some serious incidents weren't classified correctly in terms of harm, potentially hindering learning and improvement.
However, Smith acknowledged efforts by the trust to address health inequalities, particularly targeting outcomes for ethnic minority women.
The trust responded with initiatives like setting up a maternity telephone helpline and a quality improvement project for labor induction.
"We have shared our findings with the trust and will continue to monitor these services closely, including through further inspections, to ensure improvements are delivered quickly and women are kept safe," Smith concluded.
Inspectors also found gaps in risk assessment and records, missing emergency equipment checks, reliance on interim senior cover, and issues with staff visibility of senior leaders.
Despite these findings, leaders demonstrated a proactive approach to learning, improved staffing rates, and worked towards meeting safety actions outlined in the maternity incentive scheme.
We've contacted the Croydon Health Services NHS Trust. who operate maternity services at Croydon University Hospital for comment.
A spokesperson from Croydon Health Services NHS Trust said:
“Following the CQC inspection of our maternity services last year as well as noting the positive aspects, we acknowledge the findings in their recent report and are working hard to make improvements in the areas where our maternity service may have not met the high standards that women and families expect and deserve.
“Over the past six months there are several areas where we have already taken proactive action, including introducing a dedicated maternity phone line to support our triage service, and accelerating improvements to our induction of labour processes. We are also continuing to recruit staff, strengthen training, and further improve our communication with those we care for.
“The report also highlighted our HEARD Campaign as an especially positive Trust initiative aimed at improving outcomes for pregnant women from black, Asian and global minority ethnic backgrounds using our service. Along with this our well led and caring ratings remained at good, showing stability in these areas and giving us a strong foundation on which build to ensure a positive and compassionate experience for the women and babies we care for every day.”