10 August 2023
When having a baby, you place so much trust and reliance on the maternity services to give you the care that you need and to ensure that you and your baby are safe. The last thing that a parent to be wants to hear is that maternity services have been found to be inadequate but sadly, Hull’s maternity services have been given this lowest possible rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after the regulator described it as a “chaotic environment which was not fit for purpose”.
Hull Royal Infirmary, which is part of the Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, was visited on March 15, April 24 and April 25 2023 as part of the CQC’s national maternity inspection programme. Following the visit, the watchdog downgraded the hospital’s maternity rating from good to inadequate, indicating that significant improvements need to be made. If you would like to read the CQC report, please follow the link below:
Hull Royal Infirmary – Care Quality Commission (cqc.org.uk)
As well as raising concern about issues with management, leading to long delays, there was concern surrounding staff training, with there being no policy in place outlining what training was mandatory and how often it should be completed. Such a finding is utterly shocking, as it is vital that staff have the necessary training in order to help them to identify and deal with any problems at the earliest possible opportunity. Instead, the CQC found that staff “did not always identify and act quickly to prevent deterioration of women and birthing people at risk”.
Also, and perhaps most worryingly of all, the CQC found that the “design, use of facilities, premises and equipment did not always ensure women and birthing people were safe”. An example of this is that there was no neonatal resuscitaire on the antenatal day unit, meaning that there was no immediate support available to give breathing assistance to a baby, should it be required.
Promises have been made by the Hospital Trust that they will make significant and immediate action to address the issues identified by the CQC. Whilst it is positive that action is being taken and this will hopefully lead to women and birthing parents receiving the standard of care that they rightfully deserve in the future, this does not detract from the fact that people will have been let down by the Trust and will have received substandard care.
I myself had my son at the Women and Children’s Hospital at Hull Royal Infirmary and whilst my experience was overall a positive one, it truly angers me that this is not necessarily the case for all and that avoidable mistakes may be made that can have devastating consequences for birthing parents and their children. Equally, it is unacceptable that there may not have been the openness and candour that there should be when mistakes are made, as the CQC found that staff “did not manage safety incidents well” or investigate them in a timely manner, with there being concerns as to the reporting of incidents.
If you or a loved one have received substandard care and have suffered injury and loss as a result of this, you may be able to bring a claim for clinical negligence. If you or a loved one feel that you have been let down by the maternity services at the Hull Trust or indeed any maternity services, please contact our experienced and empathetic team to discuss how we can help.
