Somerset NHS Foundation Trust’s response to the CQC’s report into maternity services

Peter Lewis, Chief Executive of Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“We have received three reports from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) regarding the maternity services we provide (Musgrove Park Hospital; Yeovil District Hospital; Bridgwater Community Hospital). These illustrate that we have fallen short of the standards we expected to be delivering and we want to say sorry to our families that use these services and to our hard-working colleagues.

“We are committed to improve so that we provide an excellent service that supports women, birthing people, and families in Somerset. We have made significant changes since the inspection and will continue to do so.

“We have strengthened our processes to provide ongoing review of quality, performance and governance including developed a strong audit and policy programme to drive continual improvements in our services. All guidance and policies that were highlighted have been reviewed and updated and we have increased scrutiny and governance around our policy processes ensuring these are available to all colleagues. We have reviewed and mapped all mandatory training, strengthened our oversight, and significantly improved our compliance.

“At Musgrove Park Hospital’s maternity unit, we have put in place a new evidence-based, standardised triage process to risk assess and prioritise care based on clinical need and reconfigured the ward to facilitate safe and effective clinical oversight of our service users. We immediately sourced emergency equipment at Musgrove Park and Yeovil District Hospital.

“The CQC report for Musgrove Park’s maternity service highlights issues that are as a result of the poor condition of the building. We are planning to replace this as part of the national New Hospitals Programme but have already made improvements specifically around safety and security.

“The inspectors noted an open culture, good engagement with local communities to make improvements and plan services, good team working, and that colleagues felt valued and supported. We have a lot of work to do, but this does give us good foundations on which to build.

“We are here to support all those using our maternity services. If you have any questions, or concerns, would like more information, or to speak to someone about our service, please speak to your midwife. We are here to help and support you.”