Urgent action is being taken after maternity services in Sheffield were downgraded from ‘outstanding’ to ‘inadequate’ following inspection in March. The inspection was prompted following concerns about the safety and quality of services provided to women and babies.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) confirmed the Jessop Wing maternity unit did not provide the appropriate standard of care after inspectors visited the labour ward, two postnatal wards, the antenatal ward, admission triage area and the advanced obstetric care unit. Between October 2019 and December 2020, five women died while in the care of the unit. There were also 13 serious incidents reported by the Trust between June 2019 and December 2020.
Conditions have been imposed on Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to:
- Ensure staff are suitably qualified, skilled and competent to care for and meet the needs of women and babies
- Put the correct processes in place for investigating serious incidents, and make sure lessons are learned from them
- Improve monitoring of the effectiveness of care and treatment provided to patients
- Improve infection prevention and control
At Ramsdens our highly experienced Clinical Negligence team, who have experience in dealing with claims of such a sensitive nature, involving the loss of a child together with injuries sustained during birth, are here and able to assist in potential claims. If you are concerned about the care received by you or a loved one please do not hesitate to contact us on 01484 821 500, fill out our online enquiry form or email us to discuss confidentially.