Praise For 'Real Life Angels' As Scarborough Hospital's Maternity Service Significantly Improves

The Care Quality Commission has upgraded the maternity services at Scarborough and York hospitals from inadequate to good following a recent inspection that highlighted major improvements in care and safety.

Scarborough Hospital has significantly improved the quality of its maternity services.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has upgraded the ratings for maternity services at Scarborough Hospital from inadequate to good following a two-day inspection carried out this spring.

Scarborough Hospital maternity unit is part of the family health care group and undertakes around 1,100 deliveries a year.

At York Hospital, the overall service rating was also improved from inadequate to good.

During a two-day visit to the hospital earlier this year, inspectors said there were “sustained improvements across multiple areas since the last inspection”, including strengthened incident management, safer and more consistent triage, up-to-date fire risk assessments, and improved maternity theatre environment and equipment.

Full compliance with baby tagging and more stable medical and midwifery staffing were also commended.

Women spoke positively about the care during pregnancy and consistently described staff at Scarborough Hospital as “very kind, super friendly, supportive, and helpful”, with feedback including phrases such as “very attentive,” “outstanding care”, and “real life angels”.

Much of the feedback highlighted the continuity of care provided over the nine-month journey, which women greatly valued, and women said staff remembered them, helping them feel recognised and supported through their care and reflecting strong continuity and personalised care.

According to inspectors, staff described a stronger learning culture and felt empowered to report safety events, reflecting improved psychological safety and more effective reporting systems.

Staff, teams, and services worked together to an “exceptional standard”, according to a recently published report.

CQC inspectors made recommendations for improvements at Scarborough Hospital’s maternity service after noting that “the environment was not consistently safe, and ongoing constraints continued to compromise timely access to care”.

Inspectors found that there were “operational risks in relation to maternity theatre flow and staffing at times of increased demand when women in labour needed to be transferred to main theatres for emergencies when the maternity theatre was in use”.

They also highlighted “avoidable fire safety risks” and said that “several fire doors were found wedged open, which was not in line with trust procedures”.

However, the CQC noted that fire risk assessments were consistently up to date, clearly assessed and documented, with no significant risks identified.

Gill Hodgson-Reilly, CQC deputy director of operations in the north-east, said:

“When we inspected maternity services at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, we were pleased to see significant improvements across both hospitals. Women and their babies are now getting the quality of care they deserve, led by kind and dedicated staff teams.

“Women consistently told us staff were kind, supportive and listened to their concerns, with some describing them as “real life angels”. We saw thank you cards displayed across all areas showing positive feedback and gratitude.

“Women had personalised care plans which included information on how they could lead healthier lives when pregnant, including pelvic health and wellbeing, lifestyle changes, and support to stop smoking.”

Director of Midwifery at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sascha Wells-Munro OBE, said:

“This is a proud moment for our maternity services and, most importantly, for the women and families we care for across York and Scarborough, and the multi-professional teams who work together every day.

“Our colleagues have been on a significant journey. They have listened, learned and worked incredibly hard to make the changes that were needed, while continuing to care for and support thousands of women, babies and families.

“I have seen first-hand the determination, compassion and commitment they have shown throughout. That’s why it means so much to see inspectors recognise not only the improvements we have made, but the culture within our services – the teamwork, the learning and, above all, the kindness women experience from our colleagues.

“Behind this rating are hundreds of people who have supported one another and remained absolutely focused on providing safe, high-quality and compassionate care. I want to say a heartfelt thank you to every member of our maternity teams. They should feel enormously proud of what they have achieved.

“I also want to thank our Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership, who have worked alongside us to co-design these changes and make sure the voices of women and families are at the heart of the improvements we have made.

“And, importantly, thank you to every woman and family who has taken the time to share their experiences with us. Listening to those experiences, learning from them and acting on what we hear is fundamental to how we continue to improve our services.

“We know our work does not stop here. I want to assure all women and families that we will keep listening to you and learning from you. We will build on this progress, sustain the changes we have worked so hard for and keep looking at how we can improve.”