Westmorland General Hospital

Ratings - Maternity

• Overall

  Good

• Safe

  Good

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Not rated

• Responsive

  Good

• Well-led

  Good

Our view of the service

Helme Chase is a midwife-led unit, based at the Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal. A midwife-led unit means there are no doctors present. Women can give birth at Helme Chase 24 hours a day, seven days a week, supported by a midwife. Only women who have been identified with an uncomplicated pregnancy and they are unlikely to develop any complications during pregnancy, whilst giving birth, or
after their baby is born, can choose to give birth at Helme Chase. Community midwifery services provide antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care including birth at home.

At our last inspection 21 April 2021, we rated the service as inadequate overall. The service is now rated as good.

We spoke with staff including midwives, student midwives, maternity support workers, midwifery matrons as well as administration and clerical staff and senior managers.

People's experience of this service

There were no patients using the service at the time of our visit. However, feedback from patients received through the trust indicated the patient experience was mostly positive.