Chesterfield Royal maternity services ranked among best in England in CQC patient survey

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) published its 2023 Maternity Survey results on Friday, February 9, summarising the experiences of almost 25,515 respondents giving birth across 121 English trusts during February of last year, including 118 in Chesterfield, with scores used to benchmark trusts for regulation, monitoring and inspection purposes.

CRH was one of eight trusts flagged as ‘better than expected’ across all scored questions relating to experience of labour and birth and care on the ward after the birth.

Dotty Watkins, interim director of midwifery at CRH, said: “I am delighted with these results which have seen us rank better than most trusts by a significant amount. I would like to thank everyone who gave their feedback through this survey – and would like to reassure our families that it is through feedback like this that our services continue to improve.

“I would also like to thank my colleagues in our midwifery team who go above and beyond to ensure that their experience of maternity care here at Chesterfield is safe and that parents feel listened to and included.”

The questions in the survey are split into eight sections covering the first antenatal visit through to postnatal care.

On 28 out of 54 questions, Chesterfield Royal was scored better than expected, given the national average, while on the other 26 it was about the same as expected. None of the results were worse than expected, and all were broadly consistent with results from 2022.

CRH’s best scores included 9.8 out of ten for advice and support offered at the start of labour, and a 9.4 out of ten for the involvement of birth partners in service users’ care.

The trust also scored well for access to midwives and other staff for help after birth, information provided during pregnancy on feeding babies, and mental health checks by midwives or health visitors.

The worst scores, just below or matching national averages, related to information offered prior to induced labour and whether service users were involved in decisions about their care and treated with respect, dignity, kindness and compassion during labour and birth.

In a joint statement, Catriona Smith and Michelle Pashley, co-chairs of Derbyshire Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership, said: “It is encouraging to hear that so many of those who responded to the survey felt listened to whilst receiving care at CRH.

“We will continue to strengthen our connection with the maternity services at CRH, to build on these improvements and maintain the standards achieved so far, and to ensure the voices of services users are heard, especially those seldom heard diverse voices, so that everyone's maternity experience is the best for them.”

Vikki Develin, patient experience manager at CRH, added: “These results are positive and show the care we give is personal. I am delighted to see that women feel able to raise concerns should they need to, and know that these will be listened to. Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete a survey and help us to continue to improve the maternity experience.”

To access the full survey results, go to http://tinyurl.com/354hu7pj.

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