Salisbury District Hospital maternity unit rated 'good' by inspectors
The CQC's upgraded the service from 'requires improvement'
The maternity unit at Salisbury District Hospital has been rated as 'good' by inspectors, following unannounced checks.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited in September, with the services previously deemed to 'require improvement'.
Their latest report's been published now (14th February) with the safety rating for mothers and their babies also improving.
The CQC say they'd received concerns about the 'culture, poor care, low staffing and poor performance' of the unit, but found that to be 'unsubstantiated'.
Neil Cox, CQC deputy director of operations in the south, said:
“During our inspection of maternity services at Salisbury District Hospital, we found significant improvements in how well-led the service was. Our experience tells us that when a service is well-led, they’re more likely to meet people’s needs in the other areas we inspect which is what we found here.
“Staff told us there had been a huge change of the culture in the department and leaders now embodied the culture and values of the organisation. This support from leaders to staff was having a positive impact on people’s care.
“The service now had a strong safety culture, which was actively promoted in the department. Staff were open and honest when things went wrong, and they investigated incidents and shared learning to avoid them from happening again. As a result, we saw much safer care for women and babies.
“People were seen and triaged quickly by well qualified staff, and were involved in making decisions about their own care. We saw this reflected in the positive feedback people gave about the service. Women told us they felt safe and could raise concerns if they had any without fear of it impacting their care.
“Leaders had also taken steps to improve the physical environment at the hospital, which was now well maintained and met people’s needs. Additionally, we saw a significant improvement in staff retention which was also having a positive impact on people’s care.
“Staff should be proud of the improvements they’ve made, and we’ll continue to monitor the service to make sure these are embedded.”
The report also found some areas for improvement - such as making sure people's privacy and confidentiality is maintained on the day assessment unit.
Some women had also reported delays or long waits for obstetric reviews, medical consultations or scan results.
Chief Nurse at Salisbury District Hospital, Judy Dyos said:
“We are incredibly proud of everybody in our Maternity Team. Following an unannounced inspection last September the CQC have graded the services we provide as ‘Good’. I would like to thank everyone in the maternity team for the hard work and commitment they show day in, day out. It is fantastic news that parents said they felt safe in our care and felt able to raise concerns with our staff.”
Director of Midwifery Vicki Marston said: “The team deliver over 2000 babies a year and we want to give a big thank you to our amazing colleagues for delivering compassionate care and making a real difference to our community.”