Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission have said maternity services at Airedale General Hospital in Keighley must improve, their report highlighting that staffing shortages could put women and babies at risk.
The trust have responded that the findings were “disappointing” and it had started to make changes to improve.
The health watchdog inspected the hospital’s maternity services in December as part of a nationwide improvement scheme and its report warned the hospital did not have enough midwives and nurses to keep women and babies safe.
The service was unable to provide evidence of some mandatory training, including in safeguarding, and inspectors said its maternity assessment centre had no clear system in place to prioritise and risk assess patients.
Carolyn Jenkinson, deputy director of secondary and specialist healthcare at the CQC, said “We found staff were focussed on the needs of people in their care, however staffing shortages had impacted on their morale as they felt they couldn’t always give women and people using the service the standard of care they needed.
“The trust’s leadership team know where improvements are needed and we will continue to monitor the service, including through future inspections, to ensure people are receiving the high standard of care they deserve.”
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