A Suffolk health watchdog is appealing for people to participate in a maternity mental health services survey after a previous assessment revealed concerns about general maternity provision.
Healthwatch Suffolk is consulting new parents to find out what is working and what needs improving after previous feedback revealed a large amount of dissatisfaction with maternity care.
Of 147 parents polled between January 2021 and January 2022, 61 reported negative experiences while using maternity services in the county, while 67 were positive about the care they received and a further 19 were said to have ‘mixed feelings.’
Of 75 parents cared for at Ipswich and Colchester hospitals, run by East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), 33 reported positive experiences and 32 negative, with 10 mixed.
At West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, which runs West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, 21 out of 45 responses were positive, 16 negative and eight mixed.
Four key areas were revealed where improvements were needed, including staff attitudes, post-natal care and support, information about treatment and feeling involved and staff capacity.
In May, ESNEFT chiefs said they would put in place the recommendations from a ‘stark and chilling’ report into NHS midwifery by October.
The Ockenden report highlighted "repeated errors in care" that led to the deaths of more than 200 babies at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.
The review made some key recommendations for improvements in care, including that maternity wards had safe levels of staffing, newly qualified midwives were not allowed to work outside of hospitals and that incidents were properly investigated.
Emma Sweeney, deputy chief nurse at ESNEFT, said: “More than 6,000 babies are born each year in our hospitals.
“It is important to us that each of those experiences are positive and families are well supported.
“We are committed to providing high-quality, safe and compassionate care in maternity services, as well as making improvements when we haven’t got things right.
“It is encouraging to see in this report that out of the 75 respondents, 33 had a good experience with us and we will take the feedback on board from the 32 negative experiences so we can learn from them.
“We are continually driving improvement to ensure patient safety in all our services, including maternity. This has included a recent review of staffing levels, leadership and internal processes to support patient experience.”
To participate in the survey, visit https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/MaternalMentalHealthSurvey
Nobody from West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust was available for comment.
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