The CQC has published the results of its annual maternity survey. Women were surveyed after giving birth in January and February this year.

You can find our report on the CQC website.

Our Chief Nurse, Kathryn Halford, said:

It’s disappointing these results do not show the continued improvement we hoped for following last year’s survey, and we apologise to those whose experience in our hospital was not as good as it should have been.

We’re listening to all women who have had their babies in our hospital so we can act on what they tell us and improve our service. They said they would like more continuity of care, seeing the same midwives throughout their pregnancy and birth. While we’re affected by a nationwide shortage of midwives, we’re working to increase our numbers, welcoming newly qualified and international midwives to our team.

We also know we need to improve the time it takes for women to be triaged when they come to our hospital; and improve our processes for getting them back home with their babies.

Of the 552 women who were invited to take part in this survey, 183 responded.

Ours is one of the busiest maternity units in the country, with around 7,500 babies born every year.