Hospital bosses in Bradford have questioned the way a national review of maternity services was conducted after it rated the city's maternity unit as "weak".

The results of the review by independent health watchdog the Healthcare Commission are as yet unpublished, but it has informed trusts of their provisional ratings.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's maternity unit at Bradford Royal Infirmary has been provisionally rated as "weak", a verdict greeted with surprise and disappointment by trust bosses.

The trust has raised its concerns over the rating.

The maternity unit, which deals with almost 6,000 births a year, has previously been rated highly in reviews and this has led the trust to question the way in which this latest investigation has been carried out.

In a report to the trust's governors, chief executive Miles Scott says: "We do not think that this paints an accurate picture of services in Bradford and we believe that there are serious problems with the way that the Healthcare Commission has collected and used data within their review."

Mr Scott says he believes the methods for assessing data are not statistically valid and indicators have been scored on the basis of a small survey of women asked to recall details of their care a year earlier.

He said: "None of this appears consistent with other external reviews which have consistently rated our maternity services very highly. For example we are one of only 20 units in the country to have achieved the highest accreditation rating for maternity services by the NHS Litigation Authority.

"We are not alone in feeling aggrieved on this issue. In London, for example, we understand that 19 trusts have been rated weak, seven fair, one good and none excellent.

"Publication of the review has been delayed while the Healthcare Commission consider a number of significant responses, including one from Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust."

A spokesman for the trust added: "Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust welcomes the national review of maternity services that has been undertaken by the Healthcare Commission.

"There have been national discussions with the Healthcare Commission about the provisional results of this review. The foundation trust will be able to comment further when these results are finalised.

"Local people can have complete confidence in the safety and quality of care that our maternity service provides. The unit has undergone rigorous assessments on patient safety and is one of only 20 units in the country to have achieved the highest accreditation rating for maternity services.

"We have a low caesarean rate and a high normal birth rate, offer midwife-led care and have an excellent neonatal unit.

"We also have phase three Unicef Baby Friendly' status, which means we offer excellent support for breastfeeding. We have invested in an excellent new transitional care unit that helps mums stay with babies who need extra care and have opened a purposely-designed and redecorated delivery suite assessment unit, which helps provide support to mums-to-be."

A Commission spokesman said it would not comment on unpublished data. The report is expected to be published before the end of the month.

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