Low staffing put hospital babies at risk - report

Staff shortages at a major hospital trust put the safety of expectant mothers and their babies at risk, a regulator warned.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated the maternity services at hospitals in Basildon and Southend-on-Sea, Essex, as "requires improvement" after an inspection in March 2024.

Hazel Roberts, of the CQC, said patients' needs could not always be identified and met quickly due to gaps in staffing levels.

Diane Sarkar, the chief nursing and quality officer at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said leaders were "working hard to improve" the services.

The inspection followed maternity services at the trust's other hospital in Broomfield, near Chelmsford, being rated as inadequate on 3 January.

The latest CQC visit in south Essex echoed similar concerns raised by the watchdog in 2022.

Ms Roberts said: "We were concerned to find gaps in staffing levels, which could impact the safety of women, people using the services and their babies.

"There was still a lack of medical cover for triage at Southend, which had led to delays in people being seen by medical staff."

The CQC's report noted senior leaders had plans to address staffing issues, but were not always visible themselves on the wards.

Staff at Basildon Hospital told the inspectors they did not feel encouraged to raise safety incidents as leaders did not always reply to them.

"However, women and people using maternity services at both hospitals told us that staff treated them with kindness, listened to them and respected their privacy and dignity," Ms Roberts said.

The CQC said the inspection took place in March 2024 and apologised for a delay in publishing its findings.

In the report, several points of concern were raised:

• Staff in Basildon said there was not always enough fetal monitoring equipment to keep patients and their babies safe
• A lack of hot water in Southend prevented people from taking showers and choosing to have water births
• Leaders did not always have clear oversight of the quality of people's care

However, inspectors also noted a number of positives at the trust:

• People's care plans and risk assessments were "comprehensive and person-centred"
• People were actively involved in decisions about their care
• The trust listened to feedback and worked with stakeholders to improve both the quality of and access to its care

A spokeswoman for the hospital trust said fetal monitoring equipment had since been made regularly available on its wards.

She said midwifery staffing levels had improved and the issues with hot water resolved.

Ms Sarkar added: "We made changes as soon as the inspection feedback was provided in March 2024.

"Whilst we recognise there is still more to do, we are confident these changes have already improved maternity services and patient experience."

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