Updated
10 August 2023
Pages 1 and 2 of this report relate to the hospital and the ratings of that location. From page 3 the ratings and information relate to maternity services based at Arrowe Park Hospital.
We inspected the maternity service at Arrowe Park Hospital as part of our national maternity inspection programme. The programme aims to give an up-to-date view of hospital maternity care across the country and help us understand what is working well to support learning and improvement at a local and national level.
We will publish a report of our overall findings when we have completed the national inspection programme.
We carried out an announced focused inspection of the maternity service, looking only at the safe and well-led key questions.
We did not review the rating of the location therefore our rating of this hospital stayed the same.
Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Trust is rated requires improvement.
We also inspected 1 other maternity service run by Wirral University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Our reports are here:
Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Trust (also known as Seacombe Birth Centre) – https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/RBL18
How we carried out the inspection
During our inspection of maternity services at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust we spoke with 20 staff including leaders, obstetricians, midwives, and maternity support workers.
We visited all areas of the unit including the antenatal clinic, maternity triage, labour ward, birth centre, day assessment, antenatal and postnatal ward. We reviewed the environment, maternity policies and 3 maternity records. We also looked at a wide range of documents including standard operating procedures, meeting minutes, risk assessments, recent reported incidents as well as audits and audit actions. Following the inspection, we reviewed data we had requested from the service to inform our judgements.
We ran a poster campaign during our inspection to encourage pregnant women, birthing people who had used the service to give us feedback regarding care. We analysed the results of the eight responses we had back to identify themes and trends. These reflected a mixed response describing a kind and caring workforce but with some people experiencing delays to treatment and support during their stay in the maternity unit.
The trust provided maternity services at hospital and local community services and 2,975 babies were born at the trust during 2022.
You can find further information about how we carry out our inspections on our website: https://www.cqc.org.uk/what-we-do/how-we-do-our-job/what-we-do-inspection.
Services for children & young people
Updated
31 March 2020
Our rating of this service stayed the same. We rated it as requires improvement because:
- The service had not provided training in key skills to staff, had not assessed risks to patients, was not compliant with key information sharing standards and had failed to control infection risk. There were not enough medical staff within the neonatal department and the design, use and maintenance of premises and equipment did not keep people safe.
- Staff did not monitor patients pain regularly and the service did not ensure staff had the knowledge, skills or ability to care for patients with mental health needs or patients who lacked capacity.
- Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
- The service planned care to meet the needs of local people and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
- The strategy for the service did not align to significant challenges faced within it such as the care and treatment of children and young people suffering from mental health symptoms and gaps within governance processes such as local audits meant a lack of assurance.
Updated
13 July 2018
A summary of our findings about this service appears in the Overall summary
Updated
31 March 2020
We have not previously rated diagnostic imaging as a distinct service at this hospital. We rated it as good because:
- The diagnostic imaging service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. They managed medicines well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
- Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients and supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information. Key services were available seven days a week.
- Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
- The diagnostic imaging service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
- Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued, and they were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service planned and managed services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.
However,
- The diagnostic imaging services did not always provide care and treatment, or manage facilities, in line with good governance principles around evidence based practice.
Updated
13 July 2018
A summary of our findings about this service appears in the Overall summary
Updated
31 March 2020
We previously inspected outpatients jointly with diagnostic imaging so we cannot compare our new ratings directly with the previous ratings. We rated it as requires improvement because:
- The service did not always control infection risk well. Staff used some control measures to protect patients, themselves and others from infection. The design, maintenance and use of facilities, premises and equipment did not always keep people safe. Nursing staff in ophthalmology did not use a tool to identify deteriorating patients.
- People requiring routine treatment could not always access the service when they needed it. Waiting times from referral to treatment and arrangements to admit, treat and discharge patients were not always in line with national expectations.
However:
- There were enough nursing staff to safely care for patients and mandatory training levels had been achieved. Safeguarding processes were in place and staff knew how to recognise and report abuse. They kept the premises visibly clean. The service used systems and processes to safely prescribe, administer, record and store medicines. The service managed patient safety incidents well.
- Staff provided good care and treatment. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information.
- Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
- The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback.
- Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. The service had a vision for what it wanted to achieve and a strategy to turn it into action. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with staff and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.