Royal Victoria Infirmary maternity services rated as 'requires improvement' after CQC inspection
A report has found that the Royal Victoria Infirmary's maternity services "require improvement."
Following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in January 2023, they have said "more work needs to be done to address safety concerns" at the hospital in Newcastle.
The CQC highlighted out-of-date equipment and gaps in staff training as areas for concern.
The staff at the RVI felt undervalued and commented on the "dissatisfaction that they had not been involved in changes to working practices", according to the report.
The report also included praise towards the ways in which the leaders had managed the service, and also said staff "well together for the benefit of women and people using the service and understood how to protect them from abuse".
What concerns did the report comment on?
Not all staff had training in key skills.
Staff did not always manage medicines well, inspectors found unsecured and out of date medicines in some areas.
Some staff did not feel respected, supported, and valued. Some staff expressed dissatisfaction that they had not been involved in changes to working practices and the way in which senior leaders had communicated these to them.
What points did the inspectors praise over the services?
Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills.
The service engaged well with woman and birthing people and the community to plan and manage services.
Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC’s deputy director of secondary and specialist healthcare, said: “When we visited maternity services at Royal Victoria Infirmary, we found leaders understood and managed the priorities and issues the service faced, however more work needs to be done to address safety concerns across the service.
“For example, inspectors found issues with equipment in the Newcastle Birthing Centre. There was out of date equipment on wards and resuscitation trolleys, also daily checks on emergency equipment weren’t adequate which could put people’s health at risk if their condition deteriorates.
“However, staff worked well together for the benefit of women and people using the service and understood how to protect them from abuse."
Following the inspection, the CQC have told the bosses at the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust where improvements can be made.
In response, hospital leaders said it was "disappointed" with the findings.
Dame Jackie Daniel, chief executive of the trust said: “We are very disappointed with the rating applied to the service. Whatever the rating, our response will be to focus on learning and improvement as it is for any external or internal service review.
"The safety of women and birthing people and their children is of utmost importance to us all and we will prioritise listening and learning to ensure we can provide the high-quality care our patients deserve.
“Listening to people who use our maternity services is so important, as we completely understand that peoples’ experience can differ. This is why, in addition to our own improvement work, we work in partnership with our Newcastle Maternity Voices Partnership who provide another valuable way for us to hear the needs of those using our services.”
The CQC said they will "continue to monitor the service closely, including through future inspections."
The overall rating for Royal Victoria Infirmary remains as outstanding.
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