THE maternity service at Warrington Hospital has been rated ‘good’ following an inspection.

The Lovely Lane site provides maternity services to the population of Warrington and Halton.

The services include an early pregnancy unit, an antenatal day unit, triage assessment unit, a joint antenatal and postnatal ward, a birth suite, and midwifery led birthing centre.

And each year, there are approximately 2,600 babies born at Warrington Hospital.

Representatives of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited the hospital back in September.

Here, they spoke with a number of doctors and midwives as well as a maternity support worker, domestic members of staff, women and birthing people, and a birthing partner.

They also reviewed 12 patient care records as part of the inspection.

Inspectors have now published their findings, revealing that the maternity services at Warrington Hospital continue to be ‘good’.

The report says how the service was ‘visibly clean’ and that staff controlled infection risk well.

It also states that staff assessed risks to women, acted on them, and kept good care records.

Praising leaders and staff, inspectors said: “Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills.

“Staff were passionate about the care they provided and were engaged in improving the service further.

“Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent.”

CQC representatives found that the maternity service was found to engage well with women and the community and that people could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait ‘too long’ for treatment.

Responding to the news, chief nurse and deputy chief executive Kimberley Salmon-Jamieson said: “We are delighted and proud that our maternity services have once again been rated as ‘Good’ by the CQC, following their inspection in September 2023.

“The inspection report reflects the commitment of staff to provide the best possible maternity care within what inspectors describe as a ‘culture that places people’s care at the heart of the service’.

“As well as highlighting many areas of good practice, we are pleased inspectors also noted outstanding practice in our work with partners to overcome barriers to accessing services, which can be faced by some in our communities.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff for their incredible commitment and dedication to keeping people who choose to birth with us and their babies safe in our care.”

Director of midwifery Ailsa Gaskill-Jones added: “We are all extremely proud that our service has been rated good by the CQC once again, and to have also achieved this rating across both the safe and well-led domains.

“This is good news for women and people currently in the care of our maternity services and for members of our communities who may access our services in the future.

“The inspectors’ report reflects the incredible passion of the team involved in delivering our service, from doctors, midwives, support workers and domestics to colleagues across the wider Trust.

“We look forward to reviewing the report’s findings in more detail to ensure we continue to provide a safe and positive experience of care.”