Independent regulator finds improvements in maternity services at Bradford Royal Infirmary
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out an inspection at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in January as part of its national maternity services inspection programme, aimed at providing an up-to-date view of the quality of hospital maternity care across the country, and a better understanding of what is working well to support learning and improvement.
Following this inspection, the overall rating for maternity services at Bradford Royal Infirmary remains rated as requires improvement. Being safe also remains rated as requires improvement.
The rating for well-led has improved from inadequate to good. Effective, caring and responsive were not looked at during this inspection and effective and responsive remain rated as requires improvement and caring remains rated as good.
The overall rating for Bradford Royal Infirmary has improved from requires improvement to good, which Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said was "tremendous news and reflects the hard work, dedication and compassion of our staff".
'Significant improvements in leadership'
Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC’s deputy director of secondary and specialist healthcare, said: “When we visited maternity services at Bradford Royal Infirmary, we found significant improvements in leadership since our previous inspection. We were pleased to see that leaders were focused on managing priorities the service faced and making changes to benefit women and people in its care.
“For example, there were new surgical theatres which had been purpose-built and designed to ensure the best possible environment for people using maternity services. Additionally, there was an open culture where people, their families and staff felt they could raise concerns without fear.
“However, inspectors found the service didn’t always manage medicines well. They didn’t effectively record or store medicines, which could put people at risk of harm. Also, there weren’t always enough staff to meet people’s needs which the trust must address to keep people safe.
“We’ve reported our findings to Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, so it knows what further improvements it needs to address.
“We continue to monitor the service, including through future inspections, to ensure people receive care that meets standards they have a right to expect.”
Karen Dawber, Chief Nurse at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "I’m particularly proud that our leadership approach developed through our Outstanding Maternity Services initiative has been recognised as outstanding practice.
"Even though our overall rating for maternity services remains the same, as not all standards were looked at by the CQC on this visit, it has recognised all of the positive improvements we have made: our new purpose-built surgical theatres and our open and honest culture where we are continually learning to make improvements.
"At a time when maternity services nationally are under close scrutiny, I’m very proud of the changes we have made and we are absolutely committed to continuing to make improvements to provide the very best care we can to our women and their families."
Inspectors found the following:
- Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills.
- Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of women and people receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities.
- Staff worked well together for the benefit of women and people using the service.
- The service investigated incidents and shared learning with staff.
Read the latest CQC inspection reports on health and care services in Bradford district
