Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust is one of the top providers of maternity care in England, providing a high standard of care to women throughout Gateshead and beyond according to the latest maternity CQC survey.
The maternity survey indicated high satisfaction scores by the respondents in relation to support or advice about feeding their baby during the evenings, nights or weekends, and 100% of the respondents felt that the midwives listened to them and took their personal circumstances into account when giving advice. This reflects the care with compassion that is the key philosophy for our service. Our maternity service aspires to deliver the best possible care to our service users.
The survey highlighted that 96% of respondents felt they were spoken to with kindness and that 85% of midwives and doctors were informed about their medical history.
The Maternity service scored highly in key areas of support during the postnatal period, with a score of 98% when women were asked if they were able to get help when needed after birth and a 91% score when asked about information and changes to mental health after having a baby which are both much higher than the national average.
100% of respondents felt that they were spoken to in a way that they could understand, 97% had enough time to ask questions or discuss concerns during antenatal check-ups and 94% were given the help they needed by midwives. We are proud that 97% of survey respondents had confidence and trust in staff during and after birth.
Lesley Heelbeck, Head of Midwifery said: “The CQC Maternity Survey for 2022 demonstrates the quality of maternity services and the care with compassion philosophy that we provide in Gateshead Health Maternity services. The trust has been praised for its dedication to providing the highest possible quality of care to expectant mothers and families, with a focus on safety, information sharing and communication around their care. The results are even more important and meaningful when ratings are from the service users themselves.
“We are proud to have an experienced multi-disciplinary team of midwives, obstetricians, anaesthetists, support workers, and paediatricians, to name a few, who enable us to provide a comprehensive range of services to meet the individualised needs of all our service users.”
Gill Findley, Chief Nurse and Professional Lead for Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals added: “A huge thank you to all of the maternity team as these results demonstrate that we continue to provide a high-quality service for our service users.
“We will continue to provide the very best care to pregnant women and their families, with a focus on safety, high-quality, compassionate care, co-produced with our service users.”
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) conducted a maternity survey, inviting people aged 16 or above that had a successful live birth at an NHS Trust between 1 February and 28 February 2022 to take part. The survey, which included responses from 121 NHS trusts across England, summarised their experiences, with 139 patients responding for Gateshead Health.
For more on the trust’s maternity services, visit the maternity services page.