The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has raised the rating for maternity services at Harrogate District Hospital, run by Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, from requires improvement to good, following an inspection from 22 to 24 July.
This inspection was carried out to follow up on improvements CQC told the trust to make at previous inspections.
CQC found that improvements had been made since the previous visits, however some breaches in regulations were found regarding safe care and treatment.
CQC has improved the rating from requires improvement to good for being safe and effective. Well-led, caring and responsive have been re-rated as good.
Following this inspection the rating for Harrogate District Hospital remains rated as good.
Charlotte Rudge, CQC deputy director of hospitals in the north, said:
“When we inspected Harrogate District Hospital’s maternity services, we found improvements had been made since our last visit. Leaders and staff had worked hard to create a positive culture where safety and learning were prioritised, and where women and people using the service felt able to speak up.
“For example, safety incidents were investigated thoroughly, and lessons were learnt and shared with staff to help prevent them from happening again. Also, robust safeguarding arrangements were in place with partner organisations to keep women safe.
"We also heard that women using the service felt listened to, and staff treated them with respect and kindness. One person told us they couldn’t praise their midwives enough and they felt very peaceful at home due to the support which was available to them.
"However, we found some areas where improvements are still needed. We were concerned that the service didn't always have a good overview of how long women had been waiting in the maternity assessment centre. This meant some people faced delays in being reviewed by doctors, which could put them at risk of harm.
“We’ve shared our findings with the trust, including where there is good practice to continue building on. We’ll continue to monitor the service to ensure existing improvements are embedded and ongoing improvements continue, to ensure women are safe.”
Inspectors also found:
- Staff encouraged women to give input into their birth plans so that it was tailored to meet their individual needs.
- The service ensured that staffing levels were consistently met, and there were specialist midwives to provide good support across the service. Leaders had also recruited additional senior midwives to strengthen leadership on the delivery suite.
- Staff ensured the maternity service was visibly clean and mostly well maintained.
- Survey results this year showed that there had been an increase in staff satisfaction - 85% of staff would recommend it as a place to work, compared to 56% last year.
- Leaders have improved staff appraisal rates, and staff training figures to help keep women safe.