Maternity services praised for 'kindness and understanding' in CQC survey

A survey of women's experiences of maternity services at 129 Trusts in England shows that many had a good experience at the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, better than other trusts across a number of measures.

The findings are included in the national and annual Care Quality Commission (CQC) 2018 Survey of Women's Experience of Maternity Care. The survey looked at the whole experience of maternity care, from ante-natal care through to labour and birth, care in hospital after birth and care at home after the birth.

The RUH scored better than the national average in four areas, including: 'At the very start of your labour, did you feel that you were given appropriate advice and support when you contacted a midwife or the hospital?' and 'If you contacted a midwife were you given the help you needed?'

Other areas where the Trust was rated above other trusts were: 'Were you offered any of the following choices about where to have your baby?' and 'Thinking about the care you received in hospital after the birth of your baby, were you treated with kindness and understanding?'

Lisa Cheek, RUH Director of Nursing and Midwifery, said: "We deliver almost 5000 babies a year to mothers at home, at the RUH, or in our Birthing Centres. These are encouraging survey results and an endorsement of the continuing care and professionalism of our staff towards women and their families. We will examine the information from the survey and identify any areas where we can further improve the services we provide."

Sarah Merritt, Head of Nursing and Midwifery, said: "We are very pleased that the survey shows women rating our staff highly for providing care with respect and dignity, for their kindness and understanding, and for saying that they had trust and confidence in our staff during their labour. This is valuable feedback that we will act upon to provide an even better experience for those using our services in the future."

The 2018 Maternity Survey is part of a national survey programme run by the CQC to collect feedback on the experiences of people using a range of NHS healthcare services across the country.

A total of 170 RUH Trust maternity service users responded to the survey - a response rate of 51.83 per centre, higher than the national average of 36.8 per cent.

ENDS

Notes to Editor

The full results for England, as well as individual results for each trust are available on the CQC's website at www.cqc.org.uk/maternitysurvey

The 2018 survey of women's experiences of maternity care involved 129 NHS acute trusts in England. It received responses from 17,611 women, a response rate of 36.8%. Women were eligible for the survey if they had a livebirth during February 2018 1, were aged 16 years or older, and gave birth in a hospital, birth centre, maternity unit, or at home. Fieldwork for the survey (the time during which questionnaires were sent out and returned) took place between April and August 2018.

The CQC survey is independent and not related to the current Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire transforming maternity services together consultation that is currently underway. However, key themes from the survey will be used to help shape future plans.

• The Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust provides acute treatment and care for a catchment population of around 500,000 people in Bath, and the surrounding towns and villages in North East Somerset and Western Wiltshire. The hospital provides healthcare to the population served by four Clinical Commissioning Groups: Bath & North East Somerset CCG, Wiltshire CCG, Somerset CCG and South Gloucestershire CCG.
• The Trust has 759 beds and a comprehensive range of acute services including medicine and surgery, services for women and children, accident and emergency services, and diagnostic and clinical support services.
• In 2015 The Royal United Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust acquired the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases (RNHRD) NHS Foundation Trust. The RNHRD treats patients from across the country offering services in rheumatology, chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome/ME, cancer related fatigue and fatigue linked to other long term conditions such as multiple sclerosis.
• The RUH is changing - we have an exciting programme of redevelopment underway transforming our site and further improving the services we provide. The Trust is building a purpose built RNHRD and Therapies Centre and is now working towards a new Dyson Cancer Centre. For more details visit: www.ruh.nhs.uk/fit4future

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