'Robust action plan' for maternity services now in place at East Surrey Hospital

The hospital – which cares for mums in Horsham and Crawley, as well as Surrey – had its maternity department downgraded by health regulators last month.

The Care Quality Commission rated the department as ‘requiring improvement’ having previously rated it as ‘outstanding.’

The Commission said the maternity department did not always have enough staff which put women’s and babies’ safety at risk; there were times when equipment checks were not complete, equipment and premises were not kept visibly clean, medicines were not always managed well, care records were not always completed and staff did not always follow infection control principles.

The downgrading of the department’s rating led to Horsham MP Jeremy Quin demanding a progress report from the hospital on what improvements it was making ‘to restore full confidence in the service.’

But the MP says he has now received assurances from the hospital’s chief executive that this is the hospital trust’s ‘absolute priority.’

"Since the inspection the hospital has put in place a robust action plan to tackle the issues raised by the Care Quality Commission,” he said. “This includes tougher infection control measures, more frequent cleanliness checks and more thorough daily safety checks of medicines and specialist emergency care equipment.

"Earlier this year the trust launched a recruitment drive to improve staffing levels and since the inspection they have had 13 new midwives start in post, with a further five due to start in the coming weeks.”

He added: “Even though the CQC report did highlight many examples of good practice I was very concerned by the change in rating. The passion of the midwifery team and their determination to deliver the best care to patients is unquestioned and I am pleased that extra recruitment and a targeted action plan are already having an effect.

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"East Surrey has totally transformed its performance over the last decade and has recently been consistently rated as ‘Outstanding’. This continues to be the case and the concerns are related to just one department – but I know the trust is determined to get it right across the board, as they must.”