Health inspectors praise reopened birth centre

Richard Youle, local democracy reporter

A birth centre has been praised by health inspectors, although they didn’t witness any face-to-face care during their three-day visit.

The birth centre at Neath Port Talbot Hospital reopened last October after a three-year closure, and 62 babies were born there between that time and early February this year when Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) undertook a three-day inspection.

HIW’s report said staff welcomed women for routine appointments with care, kindness and respect, and that feedback from mothers and mothers-to-be provided to Swansea Bay University Health Board, which runs the hospital, was excellent.

Feedback from one first-time mum said: “The midwives were amazing for my first birth, the experience was calm, the birthing pool was amazing, and I couldn’t have had a better experience for my first labour. I will 100% be going to the birthing centre should I have another child in the future.”

Robust arrangements

Inspectors said robust arrangements were in place to provide women with safe and effective care in a homely environment on a 24/7 basis. They noted high staff morale, low sickness levels, comments about managers being approachable and supportive, and said staff felt confident they could raise any concerns.

The report said patient records confirmed that women were regularly checked for personal, nutritional and comfort needs. Pain relief options, it said, were explained to patients and were readily available.

Senior leaders, said the report, explained the process for recording, investigating and learning from incidents.

Inspectors said a “safe staffing” huddle took place at 9.30am on Mondays to Fridays which was attended remotely by maternity managers at Swansea’s Singleton Hospital. The huddles feature a look back at the previous 24 hours and was described as “noteworthy practice”.

Staffing levels

The report said staffing levels had improved significantly compared to recent HIW maternity inspections at the health board and that the re-instatement of the birth centre had led to “a positive change in culture” in maternity services.

Inspectors spoke to the consultant midwife who oversees the unit, and said senior managers were regularly based there – some splitting their time with maternity services at Singleton Hospital.

Staff told HIW they hoped to develop the birth centre into a centralised hub, with additional services such as new-born screening, and said there were plans to encourage greater use of the facility in diverse and more deprived communities.

HIW’s report said health information about things like stopping smoking and immunisation was displayed but that there was a lack of information on healthy eating, physical activity and information for carers which needed to be rectified.

The inspectors, on the first day they were there, found a door was open to a room where patient records were kept. This was addressed straight away.

The report also said some policies and guidelines relevant to maternity care were out of date or in need of review, and that better signs directing patients to the first-floor birth centre were reqired.

Inspectors said a baby abduction drill needed to take place, and a drill was carried out after they left.

Embedded

HIW said the birth centre needed to be embedded further into the health board’s maternity services structure so that staff could confidently refer women to it, thereby increasing its usage.

HIW chief inspector Alun Jones cited staff’s dedication and commitment. “While some challenges remain, we were impressed to see some notable practices at the centre which foster a positive culture and promote patient and staff safety,” he said.

A health board spokesman said it was pleased that significant efforts made to reopen the birth centre had been recognised by HIW, particularly the dedication and commitment of staff.

“The safe reopening of the centre last autumn was a top priority for us and has helped us restore greater choice for expectant mothers,” he said.

“The feedback we have received so far has been very positive and the HIW report is consistent with that, not least the comments about the quality of the environment and the positive working culture they witnessed.”

The spokesman said more and more births were expected to take place there.

He added: “While the main focus of the HIW report is undoubtedly positive, we recognise and acknowledge that there are some actions for us to address and we will do so quickly.”

The health board’s home birth service, meanwhile, has also been reinstated. Separately an independent review of maternity and neonatal services at the health board is continuing. Board leaders may have sight of a final review report when they meet in July.