A Bradford hospital trust has been lifted from ‘requires improvement’ to a ‘good’ rating by inspectors.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in January 2023.

It was carried out at Bradford Royal Infirmary as part of the CQC’s national maternity services inspection programme. 

The healthcare watchdog found improvements in the rating for maternity services at Bradford Royal Infirmary, including the creation of purpose-built surgical theatres.

Following the focused inspection, the overall rating for maternity services at Bradford Royal Infirmary remains rated as 'requires improvement'. 

The inspection question for safety has not changed from ‘requires improvement’ while leadership has been pulled up from ‘inadequate’ to ‘good’. 

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

Questions on effectiveness, care and responsiveness were not looked at during this inspection - leaving ratings for effectiveness and responsiveness as ‘requires improvement’ and caring as good.

It meant the overall rating for Bradford Royal Infirmary has improved from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’.

Karen Dawber, chief nurse for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, described feeling “very proud of the changes” and added staff are “committed to continuing to make improvements to provide the very best care”.

Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC’s deputy director of secondary and specialist healthcare, said: “When we visited maternity services at Bradford Royal Infirmary, we found significant improvements in leadership since our previous inspection.

"We were pleased to see that leaders were focused on managing priorities the service faced and making changes to benefit women and people in its care.

“For example, there were new surgical theatres which had been purpose-built and designed to ensure the best possible environment for people using maternity services. Additionally, there was an open culture where people, their families and staff felt they could raise concerns without fear.

“However, inspectors found the service didn’t always manage medicines well. They didn’t effectively record or store medicines, which could put people at risk of harm. Also, there weren’t always enough staff to meet people’s needs which the trust must address to keep people safe.

“We’ve reported our findings to Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, so it knows what further improvements it needs to address.

“We continue to monitor the service, including through future inspections, to ensure people receive care that meets standards they have a right to expect.”

The report, published on Friday, found staff were supported to develop their skills and felt valued.

Inspectors said staff were focused on the needs of women and people receiving care.

The report found staff worked well together for the benefit of women and people using the service.

The service investigated incidents and shared learning with staff, the CQC said.

The trust’s chief nurse said: “We are delighted that the CQC has found improvements in our maternity services and the care we provide to women and their babies.

“This means that following the CQC inspection in January, Bradford Royal Infirmary’s overall rating has improved from requires improvement to good – which is tremendous news and reflects the hard work, dedication and compassion of our colleagues.

“We made significant improvements in the well-led standard for Maternity services – moving from inadequate to good.

"And I’m particularly proud that our leadership approach developed through our Outstanding Maternity Services initiative has been recognised as outstanding practice.

“Even though our overall rating for maternity services remains the same, as not all standards were looked at by the CQC on this visit, it has recognised all of the positive improvements we have made: our new purpose-built surgical theatres and our open and honest culture where we are continually learning to make improvements.

“At a time when maternity services nationally are under close scrutiny, I’m very proud of the changes we have made and we are absolutely committed to continuing to make improvements to provide the very best care we can to our women and their families.”

The CQC’s national maternity services inspection programme will provide an up-to-date view of the quality of hospital maternity care across the country, and a better understanding of what is working well to support learning and improvement.