A recent inspection of the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) has revealed that the hospital’s maternity care requires improvement.

The inspection was carried out on December 23, 2022 and was unannounced.

Maternity services were found to require improvement in the areas "safe" and "responsive" and the inconsistency in keeping staff up to date on training was an area outlined as one in need of improvement.

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However, CQC inspectors did find the hospital to be good in the areas "effective", "caring" and "well-led". 

The PRUH is part of the King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and serves a population of around 321,000 people in the borough of Bromley.

The Trust employs 15,407 whole time equivalent staff, with 4,016 of them working at the PRUH.

The inspection found that the maternity unit requires improvement in order to provide the highest quality of care to its patients.

The areas outlined in the report that require improvement are the maternity services, urgent and emergency care, surgery, medical care, critical care, end of life care, outpatients, diagnostics and imaging.

In a summary of their report, inspectors wrote: "Overall, this hospital requires improvement.

"We found the maternity services required improvement.

"Urgent and emergency care, surgery, medical care, critical care, end of life care outpatients and diagnostics and imaging required improvement.

"Patients received effective care and they were positive about their interactions with staff.

"Action needs to be taken to improve the responsiveness and some aspects of the safety and leadership in order to meet the needs of patients.

"The previous inspection of maternity services at PRUH was combined with gynaecology services.

"Therefore, this is the first time we have inspected and rated maternity as a stand-alone core service."

Inspectors found that staff do not always receive and keep up to date with mandatory training.

Only 85 per cent of staff had completed all of their mandatory and statutory training. 

They also reported that not all staff were made aware of the "baby abduction policy" and that staff could not tell inspectors when they last

In the report, inspectors said: “In information provided to us post-inspection, it was unclear what the trusts target was for overall compliance with mandatory training.

“Senior staff told us they had suspended some targets as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, and it was unclear if any target had been reinstated.

“However, staff who had not completed their face to face training were booked to attend.

“A further day was devoted to skills/drills and resuscitation to rehearse emergency procedures.”

CQC inspectors found that staffing was not an issue and that there were always enough nurses.

They provided care and treatment based on national guidance and evidence-based practice.

Staff at this hospital support women to make informed decisions about their care and treatment and the women that inspectors spoke to who had C-Sections did not feel pressured and were happy with their decisions.

In an official statement, a spokesperson for King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: “In response to the issues identified, the Trust took immediate action to address the concerns raised. Among the actions taken, there is now an increased number of housekeepers and sanitation stations on the unit to minimise infection risks.

“A full medicines safety review also took place, and improvements have been made to the way medicines are stored.

“An assessment of every piece of clinical equipment in the unit has taken place, and where problems were identified, the equipment has been withdrawn from use.

“Escalation policies have been re-circulated to staff, and simulation training has been conducted.

“Posters detailing how to escalate concerns are now displayed throughout the unit, and all out-of-date policies have been reviewed, and updated where appropriate.

“The CQC also noted areas of good practice, including making sure enough obstetric staff were on shift to care for women and keep them safe.

“They also noted that staff treated women with compassion and kindness, and provided emotional support to women, families and carers.

“They also gave women pain relief when they needed it, and key services were available seven days a week.”

You can read their full statement here.