Agenda item

To follow

The Chairman had agreed to change the Agenda order.  Attending for this Item from Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (the Trust) were:

Paula Gardner, Chief Nursing Officer

Justine Jeffery, Divisional Director of Midwifery

Members had received a comprehensive Agenda Report, highlighting the progress made on Maternity Services since the Trust’s last HOSC Report in September 2021. 

As a result of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in December 2020, the Trust had developed an Improvement Action Plan to meet all of the CQC recommendations.  At the time of the meeting, only 5 actions were outstanding with an expectation that these would be completed by September 2022.

Workforce issues remained, however, there had been excellent progress in recruitment.  Nationally, there was a shortfall of 5,000 midwifes, yet in Worcestershire, there would be no vacancies by February 2023, if the same level of recruitment was undertaken.

Good progress was being made against Key Performance Indicators in clinical outcomes and Staff had been responding to the recommendations in the Ockenden Reports.  These Reports followed the independent review of Maternity Services at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust and Worcestershire had 92% compliance against the Reports immediate actions.

In the ensuing discussion the following key points were made:

·       The Trust did not have any timeframe on a full CQC re-inspection of Maternity Services, however CQC monitoring visits had taken place and progress reports were taken regularly to the Trust Board for scrutiny

·       In response to a member question about whether the use of beds were designated and dedicated for use in particular area eg antenatal or postnatal, the Committee was advised that as physical space was limited, if a patient needed care, it would be provided in the bed that was most appropriate and available at the time.  It was more important that a patient received the most appropriate care

·       Midwifery students graduated twice a year and it was hoped that students would stay local, however, neighbouring Trusts were also attractive propositions.  The Trust was active in engaging with the University early

·       A Member asked for data to be included in future reports.  It was agreed that the Key Performance Indicators from the Improvement Action Plan could be shared with the HOSC now

·       The Trust acknowledged that Staff morale continued to be very low.  This was a national picture with challenges in recruitment, the concern from the review in Telford and Shrewsbury, capacity and demand and the ongoing implications of absence due to COVID-19.  The Trust had recognised International Day of the Midwife, was due to recognise International Nurses Day and was committed to building morale across the Trust

·       The number of midwifes retiring was low, however, from exit interviews it was suggested that midwifes were leaving the profession or moving to national organisations, rather than moving to another Trust

·       In response to a question as to why people were not joining the midwifery profession, Members learned that overall there were fewer training places available but no shortage of people wanting to join the profession.  In Worcestershire, the number of training placements had been increased and the Trust hoped to retain Staff by adopting greater flexibility to ensure a better work/life balance 

·       At the time of the meeting, there were 19 midwifery vacancies and 14 support worker vacancies.  Offers had been recently made to 7 students, to start in September 2022.  The Trust was confident all vacancies would be filled

·       HOSC Members learned that an audit was carried out every 3 years to determine fully funded staffing levels for the area

·       The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Health and Wellbeing asked what the Trust had learned as a result of the Ockenden Reports.  The Trust had made contact with families of past cases and one family had welcomed a case review from a number of years ago.

The HOSC Chairman thanked everyone for a useful discussion and requested a further update on progress at the November HOSC.