Sussex NHS Trust ‘improving’ downgraded maternity services

At the end of last year, the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust was told by the Care Quality Commission to “immediately improve” its maternity and surgical services, following concerns raised about skills training and staff shortages.

In December 2021, the CQC downgraded the services at Worthing Hospital, St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester, and Haywards Heath’s Princess Royal Hospital to “requires improvement” while those at the Royal Sussex County Hospital were rated as “inadequate”.

During a recent meeting at West Sussex County Council, Dr Rob Haigh, chief medical officer at the trust, said it was “well on the way” to restoring its previous ratings, adding “Requires improvement doesn’t necessarily imply that services are poor – it identifies areas where further improvements can be made – and of course we should always be striving for the most outstanding care possible.”

He added that there was “still work to be done”.

Among the issues identified by the watchdog as requiring improvement across the four maternity units were a staff shortage and staff not being kept up-to-date with training in key skills.

Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC’s head of hospital inspection, said “At this inspection we saw a number of improvements at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust’s maternity department, which showed they have met their requirements in the warning notice.

“The trust still have work to do, but it is positive that so much progress has been made, and we’ll continue to monitor them to make sure these are embedded and built upon.”

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