The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published results of its national maternity survey today (Thursday 28 November 2024) – with Newcastle Hospitals being rated as ‘better’ or ‘somewhat better’ than other trusts in a number of categories.
The survey took place in May and August 2024 and 182 people who accessed maternity care at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in February took part. The survey asked people about their experiences of care at three different stages of their maternity journey – antenatal care, labour and birth and postnatal care.
The maternity team at Newcastle hospitals oversee the delivery of more than 6,000 babies every year.
Results show maternity services at Newcastle Hospitals were rated ‘better’ than other trusts for 4 questions and ‘somewhat better’ than other trusts for 4 questions. Results were ‘about the same’ as other trusts for 47 questions. Some areas highlighted were:
- Antenatal support: ‘somewhat better’ than others for asking about mental health at antenatal check-ups.
- Labour and birth: ‘better’ than others at giving appropriate advice and support at the start of labour and doing everything to help manage pain during labour and birth. We also performed ‘somewhat better’ in how well our midwives and doctors worked together.
- Postnatal care: ‘somewhat better’ than others at providing help and advice after birth about feeding and respecting decisions on how to feed their baby.
Jenna Wall, director of midwifery at Newcastle Hospitals said: “Our maternity team work incredibly hard to deliver safe, high-quality, and compassionate care to our families every day.
“I am pleased to see we continue to receive positive feedback for the care we deliver before, during and after birth – scoring above average in several areas.
“However, we know that we have not been able to offer a choice of where to give birth or allow partners to stay over during the temporary closure of our birthing unit. We are planning to welcome patients and their families back into the birthing centre as soon as possible and will provide a further update in December.
“We welcome feedback from those who use our maternity services, and each month we invite everyone giving birth to tell us what they think. This is a valuable way for us to understand what makes a good experience and how we can improve.”
The full results for England, are available on the CQC’s website.
