Earlier this year, health inspectors contemplated closing a maternity unit due to safety concerns.
Following a visit to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent, the Care Quality Commission instead demanded “immediate improvements.”
East Kent Hospitals Trust has “fundamental” problems, according to Helen Gittos, whose infant daughter died there.
The chief executive officer of the trust has apologized for its service.
The January review came after at least 45 infants survived in two East Kent Hospitals Trust hospitals.
The inspection of the William Harvey Hospital in East Kent revealed multiple instances of substandard practices. Such as staff neglecting to wash their hands after each patient and life-saving equipment being in the wrong location.
The watchdog raised safety concerns and threatened the trust with enforcement action to safeguard patients days after the site visit.
“Difficult to reassure”
Ms. Gittos, whose daughter Harriet was born at the East Kent Trust’s Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital (QEQM) in 2014 and died eight days later, stated, “When my daughter Harriet was born, the then head of midwifery was so concerned about safety that she thought the William Harvey, in particular, should be closed down.”
She stated, “Nearly nine years later, we find ourselves in a similar predicament. What has been occurring has not been effective.
“I continue to be astonished at how possible it is to be shocked by all of this. But I am shocked that despite so much scrutiny and so much external assistance, so much is still wrong.
The problems that have been uncovered are so fundamental that we must change our approach.
Ms. Gittos stated, “We’ve received so many assurances over such a long period that it’s difficult to feel reassured until we see meaningful change.”
The CQC considered closing the hospital’s maternity unit due to concerns.
The trust promised to enhance care quickly, and the CQC decided weekly monitoring was enough.
Following the inspection, the overall CQC rating for maternity services at both the William Harvey and The QEQM in Margate fell from “requires improvement” to “inadequate.”
Director of operations for the south at the CQC, Deanna Westwood, stated that the watchdog has now used “urgent enforcement powers” to “require immediate improvements” at the trust.
The CQC raised specific concerns regarding the utilization of resuscitation equipment.
Ms. Westwood stated, “Babies requiring emergency resuscitation were taken to a resuscitative device; however, in some cases, this device was outside the labor room and in the corridor.”
This could delay neonates’ care, separate them from their moms, and increase misidentification.
East Kent Hospitals trust chief executive Tracey Fletcher stated, “I am sorry that despite the dedication and hard work of our staff, the CQC found in January that the trust was not consistently providing the maternity care women and families should expect.”
She stated that the trust has since increased the number of physicians at William Harvey’s triage service. The trust also stated that it has enhanced emergency equipment accessibility and cleaning.
Ms. Fletcher added, “We recognize that, despite the changes made to the service thus far, there is still a great deal of work to be done to ensure that we consistently provide high-quality care to every family, every time.”
Dr. Bill Kirkup CBE’s October independent study of the two institutions covered 11 years starting in 2009.
45 of 202 studied newborns could have survived if the trust had provided better care.
The review uncovered a “clear pattern” of “sub-optimal” care that resulted in substantial harm, and it was determined that families were neglected.
Ms. Gittos stated, “I wish a nine-year-old girl were getting ready for school alongside me.”
