Women and babies at 'significant risk' at two NHS hospitals

Maternity and neonatal services at two Leeds hospitals have been rated inadequate over safety issues, the NHS regulator has said.

An investigation by the Care and Quality Commission (CQC) said maternity services at Leeds General Infirmary and St James's University Hospital have fallen from an overall rating of good to inadequate after unannounced inspections in December and January. Whistleblowers, service users and their families raised concerns to the CQC about the quality of care for mothers and babies at the two hospitals - both part of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

The regulator found breaches in several areas across the hospitals and their departments, including dirty areas in maternity wards that put people at risk of infection, medicines being stored unsafely, and issues around a "blame culture" that meant staff stayed quiet about concerns. At both Leeds hospitals' neonatal services, the CQC found leaders had not ensured adequate staff levels with the right qualifications and skills, there was no designated private space for breastfeeding, and equipment was not secured safely.

Ann Ford, the CQC's director of operations in the north, said the concerns raised "were substantiated, and this posed a significant risk to the safety of women, people using these services, and their babies as the staff shortages impacted on the timeliness of the care and support they received". She added that while staff were working hard to provide good care, "leaders weren't listening to them" when they identified areas of concern.

Ms Ford also noted that babies were transferred between the two hospitals "when it wasn't safe for them to do so". The CQC said the two hospitals' neonatal services were inadequate, as they were rated as standalone services for the first time.

The overall rating for Leeds General Infirmary was downgraded from good to requires improvement, and St James's University Hospital remains rated as requires improvement. The overall rating for the trust remains rated as good.

Read more:NHS trust admits failings in baby deaths caseWarning of heat impact on pregnant women and newborns Last year, a parliamentary inquiry found there was "shockingly poor quality" in maternity services, and good care was "the exception rather than the rule". Former health minister Maria Caulfield told Sky News at the time that maternity services had not been where they should be and apologised to mothers who had been affected.

How has NHS trust responded? Professor Phil Wood, chief executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said the CQC findings "have highlighted significant areas where we need to improve our maternity and neonatal services, and my priority is to make sure we urgently take action to deliver these improvements". "I want to reassure every family due to have their baby with us in Leeds and any new parents that we are absolutely committed to providing safe, compassionate care," he added.

"We deliver more than 8,500 babies each year and the vast majority of those are safe and positive experiences for our families. But we recognise that's not the experience of all families.

"The loss of any baby is a tragedy, and I am extremely sorry to the families who have lost their babies when receiving care in our hospitals." Prof Wood said the trust has already started making improvements to its services by recruiting 55 midwives since last autumn, while a further 35 newly qualified midwives are due to start later this year. More midwifery leadership roles have also been appointed to support clinical teams, he added..