The CQC has rated three maternity services run by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust as inadequate. The nationwide review of maternity services, run by midwife Donna Ockenden, found that North Manchester General Hospital, Saint Mary’s Hospital and Wythenshawe were all inadequate.
The inspection for Saint Mary’s hospital was carried out in March 2023 and the main findings were as follows:
- Not all staff completed training in key skills. Only 70% of obstetric consultants had completed CTG training and 83% of obstetric trainees – less than the 90% target set by the Trust.
- Staff were not up to date with mandatory and safeguarding training
- Staff did not always have access to enough equipment to provide safe care. There were risks identified in respect of the age of fetal monitoring equipment. There were instances where the fetal heart rate had not been monitored in emergency situations.
- Lack of access and delays to CTG monitors led to delays in care and treatment for women, particularly leading to delays of induction.
- Infection risk was not always well controlled.
- Risks were not assessed and therefore opportunities to prevent harm were missed. The service failed to operate an effective and timely triage process. 73.6% of women were not seen within 15 minutes of arrival.
- There were delays in women accessing elective caesarean sections.
- The service did not have enough staff with the right qualifications, skills, training and experience to keep women safe. A lack of medical and aesthetic staff had impacted negatively on the care and treatment of women i.e., delays in pain relief.
- Incidents were not always graded accurately.
- Managers were not always assured that staff were competent
- Leaders did not always address issues facing the trust in a timely way. For example, the report identified risks in triage which was escalated to leaders, yet records showed that timely action hadn’t been taken.
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