South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust praised for significant Maternity Services improvement

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT) are excited to share the recent outcomes of the Care Quality Commission's (CQC) inspection report, showcasing significant improvements in the quality of care within our Maternity Services.

The Trust is thrilled to announce that following an inspection in April 2023, Warwick Hospital's Maternity Services have retained their overall rating of "Good." Furthermore, SWFT is proud to share that the service’s dedication to ensuring safety and leadership excellence has been recognised and rewarded with improved ratings in these crucial areas.

The rating for "being safe" has been elevated from "Requires Improvement" to "Good". This achievement reflects the efforts in strengthening safety protocols, implementing robust procedures, and developing a culture of attentiveness to ensure the highest standards of patient well-being.

The CQC has also acknowledged the leadership within SWFT’s Maternity Services. The rating for "well-led" has improved from "Good" to "Outstanding." This recognition is a testament to the incredible leadership team, who work tirelessly to ensure effective management and innovation within services.

The Trust, which is rated ‘Outstanding’ overall by the CQC, is incredibly proud of the collective efforts of their dedicated healthcare professionals, who continually strive to exceed expectations and provide exceptional care to our community.

Linda Ward, Associate Director of Midwifery, said: "We are absolutely delighted with the positive findings from the recent CQC inspection, which recognises the team’s hard work to improve the quality of care provided within our Maternity Services. This achievement is a testament to everybody in our exceptional Maternity Team. We remain committed to delivering safe, compassionate, and family-centred care, and these results motivate us to continue to strive for excellence. Our aim is to ensure that every expectant parent feels supported and confident in the care they receive at our Trust. We will use this achievement as a platform to further enhance our services, improve experiences for all who use our service and shape the future of maternity care.”

Carolyn Jenkinson, Deputy Director of Secondary and Specialist Healthcare, said: "When we visited Maternity Services at Warwick Hospital, staff were working incredibly hard to deliver a high standard of care to women and people using the service, and their babies. We found a well-respected and supportive leadership team who had the skills and abilities to run the service well. They had also created a positive culture, where staff showed everyone compassion and wanted to improve the delivery of care to meet people’s individual needs.

“People’s safety was prioritised, and the service managed safety incidents well to do this. Staff recognised and reported incidents and near misses. They were also investigated, and lessons learned were shared with the whole service so staff could learn from them to help prevent these from happening again. Additionally, when things did go wrong, staff apologised and gave people honest information and the right support.

“It was great to see some outstanding practice. For example, it provided a diabetes service to help support people with the condition. They had also introduced a health app so the Maternity Diabetes Team could respond swiftly to any changes in people’s blood sugar levels. The introduction of this app had reduced the number of people attending hospital, as staff could review the information and take any necessary action without seeing them face to face.

“I would like to congratulate the leadership team and staff on their hard work and commitment to providing high quality care. We will continue to monitor the trust, including through future inspections, to ensure women continue to receive a good standard of care.”

Inspectors found:

• Leaders ran services using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills.
• Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent.
• Staff completed and updated risk assessments and took action to remove or minimise risks. Staff identified and quickly acted when people were at risk of deterioration.
• Staff had training in key skills and worked well together for the benefit of people, understood how to protect them, and managed safety well.
• Staff felt respected, supported, and valued. They were focused on the needs people receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities.
• The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to people, acted on them and kept good care records.
• The service engaged with people from all cultures and communities.
• The bereavement pathway was being improved to a seven-day service. Also, there had been increased staff training and awareness in bereavement to ensure support was available from all staff.
• The maternity service supported and engaged with people with high-risk care needs including from ethnic minority backgrounds.

There was also the following outstanding practice:

• The bereavement pathway was being improved to a seven-day service. Also, there had been increased staff training and awareness in bereavement to ensure support was available from all staff.
• The maternity service supported and engaged with people with high-risk care needs including from ethnic minority backgrounds.

The full report will be published on CQC’s website on Wednesday 19 July.

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