Bedfordshire recruitment drive for more midwives was undermined due to racism by colleagues says CQC

A hospital trust's international recruitment drive to try to increase the number of midwives it has was "undermined" as staff faced racism from their own colleagues, health inspectors have said.

Some overseas staff, working in hospitals in Bedfordshire, felt that discrimination against ethnic minorities had become "normalised", the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said.

Whistleblowers had contacted the CQC to raise concerns about the safety, culture and management at both the Luton and Dunstable and Bedford Hospitals.

The Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it was addressing these issues.

On the first day of the inspection, in November 2023 the Luton and Dunstable Hospital's maternity unit was at full capacity and the trust had to divert new arrivals.

The CQC said it also saw women and people using the service at Luton and Dunstable waiting a long time for call bells to be answered.

The trust was issued with a warning to make immediate improvements but maternity services at both hospitals have declined from "requires improvement" to "inadequate".

Stuart Dunn, CQC deputy director of operations in the East said:"At our inspection, we were concerned to find low staffing for midwives was still a significant risk to the safety of women, people using these services, and their babies despite us telling the trust they needed to address this previously.

"The trust had taken steps to address the issue by recruiting midwives internationally, but at this inspection we found this programme was being undermined by racism against staff, by their own colleagues, and a lack of support from leaders.

"Some international midwives told us they often felt excluded, and that it was normalised for colleagues from ethnic minorities to experience discrimination from colleagues.

He added: "While staff were working very hard, low staffing issues meant people could not always access services when they needed it.

"Since the inspection they've produced an action plan to address our concerns.

"We'll be monitoring these services closely, including through further inspections, to make sure people receive safe care while these improvements are implemented."

The rating of the trust overall remains unchanged as "good", the CQC said.

David Carter, chief executive of Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust,said: "The CQC feedback was disappointing for us to hear but we are focusing our effort on ensuring that our maternity services consistently meet the standards of care we aspire to give.

"It was reassuring that the CQC confirmed that on both sites staff treated women with compassion and kindness, provided a service which was inclusive and took account of women's individual needs and preferences and achieved good outcomes.

"We are taking immediate action in the areas identified by the CQC, many of which have already been addressed since the inspection visit in November 2023.

"We were disappointed to hear that our international midwives reported issues of discrimination. Any act of discrimination or racism is unacceptable.

"The trust has a tailored induction programme for international midwives to help them adjust to a new country and healthcare system and we were pleased to hear in the report that internationally trained staff were complimentary of the support they received from the trust."

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