CQC finds maternity care 'about the same' as others

Maternity care at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) is performing "about the same" compared with other trusts, a survey has found.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published the results of its annual survey of maternity experiences in England, including the feedback of 256 women who gave birth using OUH services in February.

The mothers shared views on antenatal care, labour and birth, care in the ward after birth, postnatal care, triage and complaints.

Baroness Valerie Amos, who is leading an independent national maternity review, which includes Oxford, has said the findings so far left her "shocked" by the scale of unacceptable treatment women and families receive.

The CQC survey was carried out across 119 trusts in England and was designed to build "an understanding of the risk and quality of maternity services and care".

According to the report, OUH is performing "about the same" as most other participating trusts, with 55 of the 58 questions receiving that grade.

A question that scored 9.5 out of 10 is about partners being involved as much as they wanted during labour and birth.

Other high scorers - of 9.0 or higher - are on not being sent home during labour when worried and being treated with respect and dignity during labour and birth.

The point on receiving information and explanations needed after birth scored 6.9 out of 10, or "somewhat worse than expected".

Further details can be found on the CQC website, external.

Yvonne Christley, OUH chief nursing officer, said her team was "pleased" to see their initiatives for improvement were reflected in satisfaction ratings.

"However, we recognise there is more to do – particularly around postnatal support and feeding advice, and we will pay close attention to the areas where other trusts are performing better."

She added that their upcoming listening event on Friday was "one example of our commitment to involving service users in improvement plans".

Milica Redfearn, director of midwifery at OUH, said introduced changes, such as 24-hour visiting access for birth partners, "reflect our ongoing commitment to person-centred care and improving overall experience of our Maternity services".

Baroness Amos said she was "immensely grateful" to those who had shared their experiences with her, including hospital staff talking about the challenges they faced.

One Oxfordshire mother, Alice Topping, said that while some of the national survey findings "absolutely ring true", there was no mention of preventable deaths.

Ms Topping's daughter died while in labour at the John Radcliffe Hospital in 2023.

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