Staffing levels 'still a safety concern' at maternity unit at Swansea's Singleton Hospital
ITV Wales' Health reporter Katie Fenton has more
Safe staffing levels in parts of a Swansea hospital's midwifery unit "remain a concern" according to healthcare inspectors.
Singleton Hospital has faced continued criticism over the last two years over the safety of its maternity ward and the latest Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) report found that there are still problems with the number of staff on the Antenatal Assessment Unit.
Overall, inspectors found significant improvements to the service since its last inspection but it has sought immediate assurance over staffing levels at the Antenatal Assessment Unit.
Inspectors said that further improvement is still needed to ensure people are able to "consistently receive an acceptable standard of care when giving birth".
An ITV Wales This Week documentary in October last year then revealed fresh allegations of poor care and a service that continued to be impacted by critical staffing levels.
The Healthcare Inspectorate Wales report, which described it as 'unsafe', eventually led to the then Health Minister, Eluned Morgan MS, placing it under enhanced monitoring.
Robert Channon whose son Gethin was born with severe brain damage after complications with his birth at Singleton Hospital in 2019 has given his reaction to the latest report.
He said: "We welcome the latest HIW report with relief that after five long years since Gethin suffered an horrific avoidable injury at birth that improvements are starting to be made.
"However when you dig into the detail there are still clear and critical safety issues. For example midwifery staff told HIW that they don't have access to essential medical equipment. Emergency trollies missing and worryingly there are still staff shortages in certain units.
"Several families have come forward to us recently around concerns with the antenatal assessment unit, something HIW identified as an immediate assurance issue. Also it is upsetting to hear patients are still not given quick enough access to pain relief, something HIW found in September 2023.
"Overall the improvements made so far do not assure us that the maternity service in Swansea Bay is safe. It is now even more important that the independent review is revamped to be fully independent and setup correctly, something which is still not in place."
Last month the woman conducting a review into maternity and neonatal services at the health board stood down with immediate effect.
In the latest report inspectors found that there were also concerns for patient safety regarding the increase use of agency staff and a lack of "appropriate skill mix within the unit".
Additionally midwifery staff told inspectors that they did not always have access to essential medical equipment to provide sufficient care to patients.
HIW said it was also concerned to "hear further feedback from women in relation to delays administering pain medication, which was also reported during our previous inspection".
It has said that Swansea University Health Board must monitor, review and act upon feedback to avoid such delays.
However inspectors did praise staff for working hard, describing them as providing "women and birthing people, and their families, with a positive experience despite the sustained pressures on the unit".
The Chief Executive of the HIW, Alun Jones, has said their inspection at the hospital has highlighted the sustained challenges of maternity services at the health board.
"Whilst improvements were identified during our return inspection, further action is required. I hope this report will accelerate the measures taken to drive forward timely improvements not only patients, but for staff within the maternity unit.
"We will be working with the health board to ensure robust improvements are made and evidenced."
In response to the report from inspectors, Swansea Bay University Health Board have said: "We are fully committed to continuously improving our maternity and neonatal services, and this latest HIW report recognises the “significant improvements” already made, particularly around staffing and service leadership.
"However we acknowledge there is still more to be done, and are taking firm action to complete all the outstanding recommendations.
"The full report gives extensive details of the improvements made, as well as our action plan, and we encourage all interested parties to read it through.
"The HIW report published today follows a recent release of the most up-to-date UK-wide MBRRACE data. This data, which is open to the public, demonstrates that our maternity and neonatal mortality rate is lower than similar maternity and neonatal services elsewhere in the UK."
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