Maternity services in Leeds NHS hospitals downgraded by healthcare regulator
Two maternity services at NHS hospitals in Leeds have seen specific areas of care downgraded by the healthcare regulator for the first time since its founding.
Services at Leeds General Infirmary and St James's University Hospital have dropped from an overall rating of good to inadequate after an investigation by the Care and Quality Commission (CQC) into reported issues with the quality of care.
Unannounced inspections of maternity and neonatal services at the two hospitals, which come under Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, were made in December and January after whistleblowers, service users and their families raised concerns.
It is the first time the CQC has given specific ratings for the sub-department categories of effective, caring and responsive for maternity care as a standalone service.
Specific categories for 'safe and well-led' were downgraded to inadequate, while 'effective and caring' was rated as requires improvement and 'responsive' was rated as good.
The CQC also rated the two hospitals' neonatal services as inadequate, as they were rated as standalone services for the first time.
The regulator found breaches in several areas across the hospitals and their departments.
Among the issues identified in maternity wards were dirty areas that put people at risk of infection, medicines being stored unsafely and issues around a 'blame culture' that meant staff stayed quiet about concerns.
In neonatal services at both hospitals, leaders had not ensured adequate staff levels with the right qualifications and skills, while there was no designated private space for breastfeeding and equipment was not secured safely, the report said.
Ann Ford, CQC's director of operations in the North, said: 'Prior to our visit, we had received a number of concerns from staff, people using the services and their families about the quality of care being delivered, including staff shortages in maternity at both hospitals.
'During the inspection, the concerns were substantiated, and this posed a significant risk to the safety of women, people using these services, and their babies as the staff shortages impacted on the timeliness of the care and support they received.'
Ms Ford said staff in the hospitals were working hard to provide good care to patients but 'leaders weren't listening to them' when they identified areas of concern, while she said the fact investigations were not always carried out after incidents had taken place was 'concerning'.
Babies were also being transferred between the two hospitals 'when it wasn't safe for them to do so', she added.
The overall rating for Leeds General Infirmary declined from good to requires improvement and St James's University Hospital remains rated as requires improvement. The overall rating for the trust remains rated as good.
The CQC has told Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to submit a plan showing what action it is taking in response to these concerns.
Katie Warner, an expert medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell's Leeds office, said the findings would 'understandably cause significant anxiety for families'.
'Our clients have long-held concerns that previous CQC inspection ratings didn't accurately reflect the care on the ground families received, and things were worse than thought,' she said.
'Now that both services have been downgraded overall, our clients are now starting to feel listened to. However, the new ratings also raise serious questions about the standard of care being provided to families.'
Professor Phil Wood, chief executive of the trust, said: 'These reports have highlighted significant areas where we need to improve our maternity and neonatal services, and my priority is to make sure we urgently take action to deliver these improvements.
'I want to reassure every family due to have their baby with us in Leeds and any new parents that we are absolutely committed to providing safe, compassionate care.
'We deliver more than 8,500 babies each year and the vast majority of those are safe and positive experiences for our families. But we recognise that's not the experience of all families.
'The loss of any baby is a tragedy, and I am extremely sorry to the families who have lost their babies when receiving care in our hospitals.'
Professor Wood said the trust had 'fantastic teams of dedicated, compassionate staff in our maternity and neonatal services', and thanked those who had spoken 'openly and honestly' with the CQC during their inspections.
He added: 'I recognise we need to be better at listening to our staff and acting on their concerns and I'm sorry we have fallen short on this.
'I want to reassure staff that they can speak up and will be heard in a supportive way.'
The trust has already started making improvements to its services by recruiting 55 midwives since last autumn, while a further 35 newly qualified midwives are due to start later this year and more midwifery leadership roles have been appointed to support our clinical teams, the professor said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dozens seek help at rail station mental health hub
Dozens of people have been accessing mental health support at a railway station centre in its first month. "The Hub" was launched by West Midlands Railway (WMR) and charity Rethink Mental Illness at Wolverhampton Station, in May. It is providing people with support and guidance, as well as offering a space for local organisations to run pop-ups and events. "The Hub has been extremely successful in its first four weeks of opening," said Samantha Passmore, Wolverhampton customer experience manager for WMR. "We have had dozens of people enquiring about advice and additional support, and more and more charities are requesting to use the facility, which was our vision from day one. "We look forward to seeing the Hub go from strength to strength over the coming months." Organisations already using the site have included employment support service Thrive into Work, and Children in CueSports - which provides pathways into sport. "In just a few weeks, we've seen how much of a difference it can make to have an accessible space where people feel able to reach out for help," said Kirsten Rose, service manager at Rethink Mental Illness - which maintains and staffs the site. "It's a great example of what's possible when organisations come together to put mental health at the heart of local communities." The initiative is backed by Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation – the lead provider of mental health and learning disability services in the region. Its chief nurse Carolyn Green, said they had seen increased interest in their services since the hub opened. "This includes our 24/7 mental health helpline, our sanctuary hubs, the Black Country Recovery College, and free suicide prevention training for families and carers," she said. "Having somewhere that signposts to these services in a visible, public location really matters and we believe it is, and will continue to be, life-saving." Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Hub aims to help rail passengers in crisis Former radio station studio up for auction West Midlands Railway
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Alcohol should have labels warning drinkers of cancer risks, charities say
Cans and bottles of beer, wine and spirits should explicitly warn drinkers that alcohol causes cancer, an unprecedented alliance of doctors, charities and public experts have said. Warning labels would tackle 'shockingly low' public awareness in the UK that alcohol is proven to cause seven forms of cancer and 17,000 cases a year of the disease, they claim. Dozens of medical and health organisations have written to Keir Starmer urging him to take the radical step of compelling alcohol producers to include such warnings in order to improve public health. The labels must be 'bold and unambiguous', said the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), which coordinated the letter. 'The evidence is clear: health labelling on alcoholic drinks is urgently needed in the UK to help save lives,' it said. 'They should carry strong, clear messages about the health risks, which include the risk of cancer, far beyond vague advice like 'consume in moderation'.' Kate Oldridge-Turner, the WCRF's head of policy and public affairs, said: 'Providing alcohol warning labels would empower millions to make informed choices by clearly understanding the risks.' Evidence cited by charities such as the WCRF and Cancer Research UK shows that alcohol increases the risk of breast, bowel, stomach, head, neck, liver and mouth cancer. Ireland is to become the first country in the world to include cancer warning labels on alcoholic products. From next May, alcohol sold in the republic will have to carry a warning that 'there is a direct link between alcohol and fatal cancers'. The labels will also warn that drinking can cause liver disease and affect foetuses. Prof Sir Ian Gilmore, the chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance, urged the UK to follow suit. He said: 'We must look to the fearless work of our neighbours in Ireland whose new labelling policy provides a level playing field for all producers, leaving no room for loopholes or hiding information behind QR codes or tiny print. 'Improved alcohol labelling, including clear health warnings about the link to cancer, is not just a public health measure, it's a fundamental consumer right. People deserve to know the risks so they can make informed choices about their health. But current labels and weak regulations are keeping drinkers in the dark.' The drinks industry dismissed the call and said warnings would make drinkers anxious. A spokesperson for the Portman Group, a drinks industry-funded body that oversees alcohol labelling in the UK, said: 'Whilst we do not dispute the link between alcohol and certain cancers, and that drinking at harmful levels is dangerous and increases risks, blanket cancer warning labels are not a proportionate policy measure and do not put the risks into an appropriate context. 'This can create unnecessary anxiety, eroding trust in health advice and alienating the very people who require support.' The spokesperson said most alcohol products already included advice from the chief medical officers of the UK's four home nations to drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week. 'Most people already drink within this guidance, which means their risks for associated diseases are low', they said. In February, the World Health Organization's European office declared: 'Clear and prominent health warning labels on alcohol, which include a specific cancer warning, are a cornerstone of the right to health.' In a report, it urged governments to introduce them to help reduce alcohol-related harm and raise awareness of the link between drinking and cancer. Dr Gauden Galea, a WHO adviser, said in the report that policymakers should 'resist all the pressure that will inevitably come from commercial actors' who claim such warnings do not work. In January, Vivek Murthy, the US surgeon general under the then president, Joe Biden, said cancer warning labels were needed because drinking led to about 100,000 cancer diagnoses a year in the US. It was the third most common preventable cause of cancer after tobacco and obesity, he added. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'Drinking alcohol increases the risk of a range of health issues, including several cancers. That is why we recommend people drink within the UK chief medical officer's alcohol guidelines of fewer than 14 units a week, and strongly recommend these are displayed clearly on all alcohol products. 'We recognise the need for more action on the impact of alcohol on health; for too long there has been an unwillingness to lead on this issue. Our plan for change will shift healthcare towards prevention, including through early intervention, to support people to live longer, healthier lives across the UK.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Submit your feedback to help shape the future of pharmacy services
York and North Yorkshire residents are being asked to help shape the future of pharmacy services in their area. Feedback from a previous consultation, on whether the locations, accessibility, and services provided by pharmacies are adequate, have already been used to draw up plans for the future. Those plans, which have been incorporated into the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment, are the subject of a new 60-day consultation underway from Friday (June 20), with the window for feedback to close on Tuesday, August 19. Following this new consultation, the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board will decide how pharmacy services are to be commissioned in York and North Yorkshire. Feedback received so far has influenced decisions on, for example, pharmacy opening hours. The survey, which is predicted to take between ten and 15 minutes to complete, can be accessed at
