'More work to do' to improve Nottingham maternity units

More needs to be done to bring maternity units at a city's two main hospitals up to scratch, inspectors have said.

In 2020 the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found serious concerns at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and labelled the units "inadequate".

A new report concluded the trust still has "some areas to address".

In October a coroner said the death of Wynter Andrews minutes after she was born was "a clear and obvious case of neglect".

Nottinghamshire assistant coroner Laurinda Bower also revealed a 2018 whistle-blowing letter from midwives to trust bosses outlining concerns over staffing levels as "the cause of a potential disaster".

In the same month "in response to concerns raised... and coronial inquests", the CQC carried out an unannounced inspection at the hospital and found some staff had not completed training and "did not always understand how to keep women and babies safe", and issued a warning notice over its concerns.

Its latest report, based on an inspection in April, found improvements in the way women at risk of deterioration were identified and found documentation and monitoring had improved.

However the CQC found a disconnect between online and paper record-keeping and said there were multiple systems in place that led to duplication and errors at times.

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Source: BBC News, 28 May 2021