Ashford MP Welcomes Improvements to East Kent Maternity Units

The Member of Parliament for Ashford, Sojan Joseph (Lab) has welcomed the news that The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found improvements in the maternity services at The William Harvey Hospital in Ashford and the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate. The decision to upgrade the rating of the units follows an unannounced inspection by the CQC last December, which found that the William Harvey’s department had made significant improvements and were no longer in breach of any legal requirements.  

Both maternity units, which are run by the East Kent Hospitals University Trust (EKHUT), were previously rated overall as “inadequate” by the CQC and have now been upgraded to “good” which is positive news for parents and their newborns across the County of Kent and the wider region. Although, the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust’s rating still remains categorised as “requires improvement” by the CQC. 

Mr Joseph stressed that although this is very good progress and positive news; there is still work to be done to improve the wider local healthcare system here in East Kent and improve the standards of the William Harvey and the QEQM for patients. 

Sojan Joseph MP Quote: 

“I truly welcome the news that our maternity units are improving in East Kent. The standards have not been acceptable over the past few years – highlighted most of all by the incredibly tragic findings in The Kirkup Report. So, I am very pleased things are moving in the right direction at our hospitals’ maternity units. 

I know how incredibly hard many of the staff work to deliver a high-quality service in the NHS, so I am pleased that their efforts are being felt by the patients and recognised by the CQC. However, there is still a lot left to be done. 

The Government takes maternity and neonatal services incredibly seriously. They understand that every child deserves the best start in life and new parents must receive the support they require.  

I am glad that the three-year plan to improve NHS maternity services is progressing and starting to be reflected in our hospitals here in Kent.” 

Notes to editors 

Inspectors found at William Harvey Hospital: 

• The new maternity leadership team had created a culture where staff felt empowered to speak up about concerns without fear. Staff told CQC the culture had changed from one of blame to learning and improvement. At WHH, staff told us they now feel listened to and valued, with 86% reporting they’d feel confident raising safety issues compared to just 32% previously. 

• Leaders had implemented a comprehensive safeguarding approach including a Kent-wide safeguarding alert app and multidisciplinary team including social workers, named midwives, and perinatal mental health specialists. 

• Leaders had significantly improved staffing levels, with vacancy rates reduced from 32% to just 8% for midwives through successful recruitment and retention initiatives. They had also implemented a well-established mandatory training programme that 92% of staff had completed which included safety training, including foetal monitoring and obstetric emergencies meaning people using services were safer. 

Inspectors found at Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital: 

• Leaders had implemented a new multidisciplinary approach to handovers which had significantly improved communication between teams, with staff reporting greater confidence in the continuity of care which had improved the experience of mothers. 

• The introduction by leaders of a dedicated perinatal mental health support (the time towards the end of a pregnancy and just after childbirth) had been integrated with psychosocial assessments, risk assessments for self-harm/suicide, and access to mental health liaison services for vulnerable women. Waiting times had also been reduced from four weeks to under seven days. 

• Leaders had received funding for a bereavement room for early pregnancy loss. Families who experience baby loss now received comprehensive, compassionate care from specially trained staff. 

• The trust had created a new neonatal room and implemented a new care co-ordinator post. This dedicated space is where the required Newborn and Infant Physical Examination checks took place. These checks are a physical screening of a baby’s eyes, heart, hips, and testes and are completed before discharging the baby after birth. 

• There was only one dedicated obstetric theatre which was not in line with national guidance which required two obstetric theatres to be available. As part of the hospital’s plans to rebuild in 2025, the planned re-build included a second obstetric theatre. 

• Staff completed daily checks of specialist equipment. Records showed these checks had been consistently completed for the 3 months before the inspection. Baby resuscitation equipment on the labour ward was checked daily. Checks on the adult resuscitation and emergency trolleys were fully completed. 

• Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital has plans to start a rebuild of the maternity unit in 2025. 

ENDS