The safety of maternity care provided at Leicester Royal Infirmary (LRI) and Leicester General Hospital (LGH) has been rated as “inadequate” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the health watchdog. The CQC downgraded its rating following inspections in February and March, citing a “deterioration in the level of care”. Staff reported being “pushed to the brink” due to low staffing levels, which posed risks to the safety of mothers and babies.
The University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, which runs the sites, stated that it takes the findings of the report “incredibly seriously” and is already implementing improvements. The CQC expressed concerns about understaffing at both hospitals, which jeopardized the wellbeing and safety of patients, as staff were unable to take breaks. Delays in care were also identified, with some patients self-discharging before receiving medical review.
As part of the CQC’s national maternity inspection program, all three sites providing maternity care within the trust were inspected. St Mary’s Birth Centre in Melton Mowbray retained its “good” rating for safety but had its “well-led” rating downgraded to “requires improvement”. LRI and LGH saw a downgrade in both their safety and well-led ratings.
The overall rating for maternity care at the two hospitals has been downgraded from “good” to “requires improvement”, while the overall rating for the trust remains as “requires improvement”. The CQC has issued a warning notice to the trust to ensure improvements are made. The report also mentioned concerns about risk assessments and medicine storage but acknowledged that the trust was already taking steps to address these issues.
The trust has appointed new leadership and is working on improving staffing levels, with additional midwives scheduled to join the hospitals. Other improvements in infection prevention and triage assessments have already been made, but the trust acknowledges that there is still more work to be done.
Source:
– Care Quality Commission (CQC)
– University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
