Burnley's maternity services praised

In the Care Quality Commission Maternity Survey 2019, 100% of women who responded to the survey said that they had “confidence and trust” in the staff caring for them during labour and birth.

The local Trust’s scores for the survey, which asks women about their experience before, during and after birth, have remained consistent with their 2019 scores, their highest ever. “

We are absolutely delighted to have received such positive results again this year”, said Kevin McGee, chief executive at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.

“It’s testament to the hard work, dedication and passion of our maternity staff that mothers and their families receive great care, and are confident and comfortable with the staff who provide it.”

Examples of the positive feedback from the East Lancashire mums that responded include: 99% felt listened to by their midwife at antenatal check-ups; 99% felt involved in decisions about their antenatal care; 98% were asked about their mental health at antenatal check-ups; 95% were asked at follow-up visits at home, following the birth of their baby; 98% felt that they were treated with respect and dignity during labour; 98% felt they were treated with kindness and understanding following the birth of their baby; 94% had skin-to-skin contact shortly after birth.

Angela O’Toole, Head of Midwifery at East Lancashire Hospitals, said: “This feedback is invaluable in helping us make improvements to our services, and praise our staff for the areas of care that have been received so positively.

“We’re really proud of these results and what they demonstrate about the quality of care for new and expectant mums in East Lancashire, as well as the care environment where we provide our services.

“We have the resources to empower expectant mums to make choices about where and how they would like to give birth, for example, 15% of respondents had a water birth.

"We also ensure we provide a clean environment during their stay in hospital, agreed by 98% of mums, and a comfortable atmosphere during labour, according to 96% of the women who responded.”

The results also demonstrate the positive impact of the Trust’s ‘Breastfeeding Friendly’ status, with 79% of respondents having breastfed their baby, either solely or alongside bottle milk, and 98% feeling respected by midwives for their decisions about how they wanted to feed their baby.

Compared to the 128 other hospital trusts in England, ELHT performed significantly higher than the national average in questions relating to mental health support, giving birth in a comfortable atmosphere, advice and support during labour and involvement in care decisions.