Safety concerns found at maternity unit at major Scottish hospital as NHS health board given warning

NHS Tayside has been formally ordered to improve maternity services at Ninewells Hospital following an unannounced inspection by a health watchdog.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) expanded its safe delivery of care inspections following a neonatal mortality review last year to “provide women, birthing people and families with an assessment of the quality of care” in maternity services.

It carried out its first safe delivery of care inspection in an unannounced visit to maternity services at Ninewells in Dundee between 27 and 29 January this year.

This was followed up with another unannounced visit on February 12 due to concerns, including that breastfeeding equipment was being cleaned in a sink with kitchen utensils, which had not been addressed at the time of the return visit.

In an inspection report published on Thursday, HIS said after the revisit, “we were not assured that sufficient progress or improvement had been made with some of our concerns”, and it formally wrote to NHS Tayside to urge it to meet national standards for maternity services.

Concerns included “variations in oversight and governance observed in both the hospital inspection and maternity services, and a lack of oversight by senior managers within maternity services”. Other areas of improvement included “safe staffing, fire safety issues and the maintenance of the hospital environment”, according to HIS.

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Source: The Scotsman, 15 May 2025