West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust has been told it must improve one of its services at Watford General Hospital following an inspection.
Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out an assessment of the maternity service at the hospital after being alerted to safety incidents.
Following its inspection on October 13, the overall rating of the maternity service at Watford General went from ‘good’ to ‘requires improvement’.
The CQC said the service was often understaffed which affected women’s birth choices.
“The trust had closed the midwife-led birthing unit to ensure safe staffing numbers, but this limited the choice for women with low-risk pregnancies as water births could not be facilitated,” Fiona Allinson, CQC’s deputy chief inspector of hospitals, said.
She added that safety incidents were managed well, but understaffing had caused recent safety incidents to occur – including delays in women receiving care once they were admitted to the department.
She also said the old hospital building created challenges…
