BASINGSTOKE MP Maria Miller has said the problems found in the town’s maternity department “can never happen again”.

As reported last week, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) made an unannounced visit to Basingstoke hospital’s maternity unit in November last year after whistle-blowers, patients, and regulatory bodies raised concerns, including that midwives were too exhausted to keep patients safe because of low staffing levels.

Read more: Basingstoke hospital maternity unit told to improve by CQC

The CQC dropped the rating for maternity services at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT) from good to requires improvement.

Inspectors found the trust had breached regulations and has taken enforcement action, issuing a list of 13 action points the trust needs to make to improve.

Included in its findings was that there were not enough staff to keep women and babies safe; dirty and broken equipment; women and babies at risk from unauthorised visitors entering the maternity unit; out of date medication; delays to caesarean sections and inductions; and a student midwife was found alone in charge of six patients.

The CQC also found that measures to reduce the risk of Covid-19 for women from black, Asian and minority ethnic groups had not been implemented.

Mrs Miller has now questioned the hospital trust about what is being done to “ensure the same situation can never happen again”.

She added: “It is right that, despite the pandemic, the CQC continues to hold every hospital trust to the highest standards. Their report is clear that Hampshire hospitals staff have worked tirelessly to provide the best maternity care for every woman and baby, but severe staff shortages made a difficult situation worse.

“The trust acted immediately, but I have also asked what further work is being done to ensure the same situation can never happen again, particularly understanding how the two maternity units in the trust can make best use of the staff and resources available.

“Parents want the safest possible care for the delivery of their babies, that has to be the priority above everything else."

Read more: Chief executive of hospital trust blames maternity hospital problems on midwife shortage 

Julie Dawes, HHFT chief nurse, said: "Safe and high quality maternity care is a priority for us and as such this is a disappointing report to receive.

“Our maternity teams continue to work tirelessly to support the women in their care and we are working hard to implement the CQC’s recommendations.

“We appreciate the insights of the CQC in helping us improve the care we provide for women and babies. Our ongoing investment means that since the inspection, our staffing levels have improved following a sustained recruitment and training programme, and extra training has been put in place.

“This is a really useful report in supporting our vision of providing outstanding care to our patients and we are totally committed to resolving all of the issues raised.”

Message from the editor

Thank you for reading this story. We really appreciate your support.

Please help us to continue bringing you all the trusted news from Basingstoke by sharing this story or by following our Facebook page, click this link and click like.

Kimberley Barber