‘Insufficient leadership’ as maternity unit drops two ratings to ‘inadequate’

Inspectors raised serious concerns around leadership and safety at Lister Hospital in Stevenage, run by East and North Hertfordshire Trust, when they visited in October. The maternity service was also rated inadequate for leadership.

The CQC also raised concerns about staffing shortages, infection prevention control, care records, cleanliness, waiting times and training.

The inspection did, however, find staff worked well together, managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and findings were used to make improvements.

Carolyn Jenkinson, the CQC’s head of hospital inspection, said: “This drop in quality and safety was down to insufficient management from leaders to ensure staff understood their roles, and to ensure the service was available to people when they needed it.”

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Source: HSJ, 20 January 2023