Expectant mothers and patients needing emergency treatment at risk of harm because of failing NHS care, CQC report finds
The Care Quality Commission found that 65% of maternity services are now regarded as inadequate and for ambulance services some 60% are inadequate.
Friday 20 October 2023 03:53, UK
Expectant mothers and patients needing emergency care are at risk of harm because of failing NHS maternity and ambulance services, according to a damning report by the country's healthcare regulator.
The Care Quality Commission found that 65% of maternity services are now regarded as inadequate or require improvement for safety, up from 54% last year, of these, 15% are inadequate.
And for ambulance services some 60% are inadequate or require improvement on safety, double the 30% last year.
One in 10 (10%) ambulance services are now ranked as inadequate, compared with 0% last year.
Maternity and ambulance services have also got worse overall when it comes to looking at other areas of care.
Women from ethnic minority communities are most impacted by the failing standards of care.
Ian Trenholm, chief executive of the Care Quality Commission, told Sky News: "One midwife said to us, look - the NHS is amazing but it was designed by white people, for white people.
"We have a much more diverse population now and a much more diverse group of people working in the NHS, and things need to move on."
Some 49% of maternity services are inadequate or need improving overall (up from 39% last year), while the figure is 40% for ambulance trusts (up from 10%).
The CQC has been looking closely at NHS maternity and has now inspected 73% of acute hospital services.
Many hundreds of babies have died or been left brain damaged in a series of maternity scandals across England including Trusts in Nottingham, East Kent, Shrewsbury and Telford.
Reports investigating each scandal made a series of recommendations to urgently improve maternity care across the country, but the CQC investigation proves much more work needs to be done to improve safety standards.
The report warned that the maternity model for providing cover "is often fragile, with the rotas relying on every consultant being available".
It added: "On top of this, consultants face additional pressure from, for example, having to cover registrar rotas and extra on-call shifts to meet the needs of their service."
The report further pointed to issues with governance and lack of oversight from NHS boards, "delays to care and lack of one-to-one care during labour, as well as poor communication with women and difficult working relationships between staff groups".
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On ambulances, NHS data shows response times have improved since last winter, but a number of targets are still being missed.
The average response time in September for ambulances in England dealing with the most urgent incidents, defined as calls from people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries, was eight minutes and 31 seconds - above the seven-minute target.
In its study, the CQC further raised concerns about access to mental health care and about its quality.
"Safety continues to be an area of concern, with 40% of [mental health] providers rated as requires improvement or inadequate for safety," it said.
'Inappropriate environments'
Inspectors pointed to a lack of beds, meaning people can be "cared for in inappropriate environments - often in emergency departments.
"One acute trust told us that there had been 42 mental health patients waiting for over 36 hours in the emergency department in one month alone."
The CQC's annual State Of Care report also found widening inequalities in the health service and in social care provision.
It said the cost of living crisis was heavily impacting social care providers who are struggling with rising energy bills, food prices and low wages in the sector making it difficult to recruit and retain the right staff. It also said shrinking local authority budgets threatened the future of many care home providers.
Claire Rintoul, chief executive of SheffCare, told Sky News the CQC's report reflected the harsh reality of many struggling care providers.
"Our local authority has got a £20m shortfall, they're really trying to do their best for us but they cannot afford to pay what it costs to provide good care. They're short £240 a week for every resident we care for, that just doesn't add up, does it?"