BASILDON Hospital's much-criticised maternity unit has failed to improve its Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating and has once more been described as 'requires improvement '.

The latest rating for the unit – and its counterpart at Southend, which is also run by the Mid and South Essex NNS Foundation Trust - acknowledges some progress but says it falls short of what was expected.

The new grading was revealed today (Friday, 17 January,) prompting the Trust to say: "This rating is not where we want to be, and we are working hard to improve."

Diane Sarkar, the Trust's chief nursing and quality officer adds: "We are committed to providing high-quality, safe maternity care.

"We made changes as soon as the inspection feedback was provided in March 2024. There have been several improvements to the quality of the maternity service since this inspection. Whilst we recognise there is still more to do, we are confident these changes have already improved maternity services and patient experience."

The CQC graded maternity services at both hospitals as requires improvement overall.

Hazel Roberts, of the CQC, said patients' needs could not always be identified and met quickly due to gaps in staffing levels.

Maternity services were rated as requires improvement for being safe, effective, and well-led. Both Basildon and Southend hospitals were rated good for being responsive.

Among the issues the CQC inspectors noted were that there was not always enough fetal monitoring equipment for those using maternity services, and that some equipment had not been tested adequately.

In addition there are issues with staff confidence about what they are doing.

Ms Roberts said: "We were concerned to find gaps in staffing levels, which could impact the safety of women, people using the services and their babies."

The CQC's report noted senior leaders had plans to address staffing issues, but were not always visible themselves on the wards.

Staff at Basildon Hospital told the inspectors they did not feel encouraged to raise safety incidents as leaders did not always reply to them.

"However, women and people using maternity services at both hospitals told us that staff treated them with kindness, listened to them and respected their privacy and dignity," Ms Roberts said.

The Trust says its has made several changes aimed at improving the quality of the overall service at Basildon, including:

• The midwifery staffing level has improved, with the maternity vacancy rate at its lowest level in three years. There were 25 newly qualified midwives employed between September and November 2024.
• Service leads ensure that staff are completing their training.
• We have put in more midwifery support to address delays in the birth reflections clinic, with patients being offered timely appointments.
• Audits are consistently completed to ensure quality of care is maintained.