Shropshire hospitals trust ‘better than expected’ for maternity care

New mothers cared for by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) are treated with respect and dignity, listened to and given the help they need, according to results of a national Care Quality Commission survey.

The finding are from the latest survey of women’s experiences of maternity care, published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The survey also found that women who raised concerns during their pregnancy or delivery had those concerns taken seriously, and that they were spoke to in a way they could understand.

The CQC also found that women using the services provided by SaTH, which runs Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, as well as midwife led units in Oswestry, Bridgnorth, and Ludlow, knew how to contact their midwife after they had gone home and were given support in helping to feed their baby both at home and out of hours.

The trust scored eight out of 10 or higher in 42 out of the 51 categories relating to the care of mums and babies.

It performed statistically better than most other trusts in 13 categories and was about the same in all the others. SaTH also saw three statistically significant improvements since the last survey in 2015, against just one statistically significant decline. The one area where SaTH saw a significant decline compared to 2015 was in the question about what options mums-to-be were given over where to have their baby.

Jo Banks, women and children’s care group director at SaTH, said: “We are delighted with the findings of the latest CQC survey into women’s experiences of the maternity services that we provide.

“The trust scored eight out 10 or higher in the majority of the questions that women were asked about their care, and scored nine out of 10 or higher in almost half. We continue to learn from the experience of women and we will assess these results to see where we can improve even further.”