James Paget Hospital criticised in new CQC report for failing to keep mums and babies safe
A hospital has been warned it must take "urgent action" after its maternity service was rated inadequate.
Inspectors found the maternity unit at the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston-on-Sea in Norfolk did not have enough staff to keep women and babies safe.
Among a catalogue of other failures found, inspectors said staff did not always control infection risks well.
Some women were put at risk as they waited too long for treatment, and there was little evidence that managers monitored waiting times, or made sure women could access emergency services when they needed them.
The unit did not always manage or report safety incidents well and learn lessons, said the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Staff had not always completed mandatory training, did not always assess risks or act on them, and staff did not always feel respected, supported not valued, inspectors added.
The CQC report - published on Wednesday after an inspection in January - also dropped the hospital's overall rating from "good" to "requires improvement".
“It’s concerning that the quality and safety of maternity care at the James Paget Hospital has deteriorated since our last inspection," said Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC deputy director of operations in the south of England.
"We found that women and people using the services as well as their babies, were not receiving the safe care they should expect."
She said sometimes staff would have to leave their roles in assessing patients' conditions, leaving those patients unattended.
The unit was still found breaking rules when it came to training midwives, despite previous warnings, she said.
Responding to the report, the hospital's chief executive, Jo Segasby, told ITV News Anglia that "immediate" improvements had been made.
"I'd just like to take the opportunity to really apologise to our patients and our community that the CQC has found that the service that we provide here at the James Paget is not meeting the requirements," she said.
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