EMBARGOED: Maternity services at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust rated requires improvement

Press release embargoed until 00.01hrs on Friday 01 September  

Links to the embargoed inspection reports are at the very end of this email   

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated maternity services at Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie Hospitals, run by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, requires improvement following an inspection in May 2023. 

Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie Hospitals are rated together as a single location but all maternity services are located at the Rosie Hospital. 

This inspection was carried out as part of CQC’s national maternity services inspection programme. This programme aims to provide an up-to-date view of the quality of hospital maternity care across the country, and a better understanding of what is working well, to support learning and improvement locally and nationally.   

This is the first time maternity services at Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie Hospitals have been rated as a standalone core service. Previously, maternity and gynaecology services were inspected and rated together. 

As well as maternity services being rated requires improvement overall, they’ve also been rated requires improvement for safe. They’ve been rated good for well-led. This inspection didn’t rate how effective, caring and responsive the service was. 

The overall rating for Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie Hospital remains good, as does the rating for Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. 

Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC’s deputy director of secondary and specialist healthcare, said:  

“When we inspected the Rosie Maternity Unit we were concerned to find there weren’t always enough staff to ensure people were cared for safely, despite the hard work of existing staff who were skilled, supportive, and dedicated to continuous improvement. 

“For example, we found understaffing meant women and people using the service sometimes had to wait a long time to be seen by medical staff during triage, which could delay care. While staffing challenges are affecting much of the NHS, leaders must ensure this doesn’t undermine people’s safety. 

“However, we also saw some examples of great practice, including a strong relationship with the local maternity and neonatal voices partnership, working together on a programme to provide better care to hard-to-reach communities. 

“We reported our findings to the trust so it knows where there’s good practice to build on and where it must make improvements. We’ll continue to monitor the service to ensure people’s safety and will return to assess whether improvements have been made.”  

Inspectors also found: 

• Staff knew how to protect people from abuse but didn’t always have up-to-date training on safeguarding. 
• In a 2022 NHS survey of maternity staff at the trust, many staff said they didn’t always feel valued. 

However: 

• Staff were honest with people and gave them support when things went wrong. Leaders shared learning after safety incidents and made changes to the service to protect people in the future. 
• The service had an open culture where women and people using the service, as well as their families and staff, felt comfortable raising concerns. 

The report will be published on CQC’s website on Friday 1 September.   

Contact    

For media enquiries:   

• Sinclair Davis, regional engagement officer – 07385 373936 – sinclair.davis@cqc.org.uk   
• Sharon Robinson, regional engagement manager - 07795 548530 - sharon.robinson@cqc.org.uk 
• Alternatively, you can email regional.comms@cqc.org.uk     

Journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact the team on the website.