CQC report says Manchester maternity hospital care deteriorating

Inspectors from the health watchdog have said that maternity services in Manchester must make significant improvements after a deterioration in care.

The report said that managers at Wythenshawe and North Manchester General Hospitals were “not always assured staff were competent”.

Saint Mary’s Hospital’s maternity service has also been ordered to urgently improve by the watchdog.

The inspections in March focussed on leadership and safety in the units. They found that staff did not always work well together or control infection risk well; they did not always have access to enough suitable equipment to provide safe care for women and babies, and opportunities to prevent or minimise harm were missed; and risks and action plans were not always followed up.

Carolyn Jenkinson, deputy director of secondary and specialist healthcare at the CQC, said “When we inspected maternity services at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, it was disappointing to see a deterioration in the level of care being provided to women, people using the service and their babies.

“Due to our concerns, we issued the trust with a warning notice requiring them to make rapid improvements.

“We found leaders had the skills and abilities to run maternity services and understood the issues they faced. However, they didn’t consistently address them in a timely way to ensure people were receiving safe care.”

Toli Onon, joint medical group director ad the trust, said they were “disappointed and sorry” at the CQC’s finding, adding “We care very much about the service that we give to women who choose to deliver with us.”

She said that changes in the triage processes meant women were now seen more quickly, delays for women needing induction of labour had been reduced and staff recruitment was ongoing.

She added that the trust wanted to give women “the best possible experience”.

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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (jacquelinevance@chadlaw.co.uk), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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