Maternity services at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust have achieved their best ever scores in the Care Quality Commission (CQC) Maternity Survey 2018.
ELHT is one of only nine trusts nationally who are ‘better than expected’. That means it’s patients are placing the Trust firmly in the top nine maternity service providers in the country.
The independent CQC Maternity Survey asks mums who gave birth in East Lancashire during February 2018 a wide range of questions about their maternity services experience before, during and after birth.
In comparison to the previous survey in 2017, scores for East Lancashire Hospitals improved for 39 of the 51 questions asked.
Kevin McGee, Chief Executive at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "We are delighted to be so well thought of by mothers and their families in the latest CQC Maternity Survey.
“This is a wonderful achievement for the Trust and a true reflection of the excellent service provided by the maternity staff at our birth centres, hospitals and in the community.
Among the overwhelmingly positive responses from East Lancashire mums were that:
· 98 per cent were positive about their antenatal care
· 97 per cent had skin-to-skin contact with their baby shortly after birth
· 97 per cent felt they were involved enough in decisions about their care
· 99 per cent said their birthing partner was involved as much as they wanted
· 98 per cent said midwives respected their infant feeding decisions
· 92 per cent said they received enough information to help decide where to give birth.
Angela O’Toole, Head of Midwifery at East Lancashire Hospitals, said: “We welcome the 2018 CQC Maternity Survey of women’s experience of our maternity services. Overall, these are excellent results for the service and our staff.
“When a woman gives birth in East Lancashire, the positive experience of other mums give her reassurance that the maternity services we offer are both high quality and as good as any in the country.”
From the responses submitted from East Lancashire mums, survey results show:-
· 24 per cent chose a water birth / birthing pool for delivery
· 11 per cent had a planned caesarean delivery
· 77 per cent of babies begin life being breastfed.
“Feedback from mums and families is crucial in understanding where improvements can be made.
“We take on board people’s opinions and we’ll be looking closely at areas where mums tell us our service can be better,” added Angela O’Toole.
Compared to 128 other hospital Trusts in England, mums rated East Lancashire Hospitals’ maternity services significantly higher than the national average for:
· Quality and choice of antenatal check-ups
· Having skin-to-skin contact with their baby shortly after the birth
· Receiving help and advice from health professionals in the six weeks after the baby’s birth.
Angela continued, “Whether it’s one of our midwife-led Birth Centres, our Consultant-led birth suite or a homebirth, local mothers can be confident that maternity and infant services in East Lancashire continue to be of an exceptionally high standard.”
The complete CQC Maternity Survey 2018 report for East Lancashire Hospitals is published by the CQC on their website: cqc.org.uk/maternitysurvey