A national maternity survey published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found that women who gave birth in hospitals across Morecambe Bay last year felt that they were involved in decisions regarding their care, and were treated with dignity and respect by hospital staff.
The survey result for University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) includes responses from 101 women who gave birth in early 2018 at Furness General Hospital, Westmorland General Hospital or the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.
The results of the survey showed that 97% of the women who responded felt involved in decisions about their care, 98% said they were treated with dignity and respect, and 99% of the women had confidence and trust in hospital staff.
Key strengths outlined for UHMBT include:
- Women felt they were given a choice about where to have check-ups
- They received support and advice about feeding their baby during evenings, nights or weekends
- They were not left alone when worried
- Any concerns were taken seriously
- Their length of stay in hospital was about right
The survey helps to identify what mothers think of maternity care services provided by the Trust in the antenatal care, labour and birth, and postnatal care stages. A total of 82 questions were asked in the 2018 survey, with UHMBT performing better than most trusts in 4 questions regarding the information that staff provided, service users feeling listened to, and choices being explained for where and when postnatal care could take place. There were no questions UHMBT’s results were worse than most trusts.
Carol Carlile, Head of Midwifery, Gynaecology and Obstetrics at UHMBT, said: “We are really pleased to see that women who recently used our maternity services felt supported and listened to by staff, and involved in decisions about their care. The results of the survey are a testament to the dedicated staff working across our hospitals to make sure that service users and their families are cared for to the highest possible standards.
“I’m so proud of the teams who have helped to achieve these results, and am looking forward to continuing to develop our services and improve and wherever we can.”
The national 2018 Maternity survey results were published on 29 January 2019, and are available to view from the CQC website at http://www.cqc.org.uk/maternitysurvey
