Worthing Hospital maternity services upgraded to good by regulator

Maternity services at Worthing Hospital have been upgraded from requires improvement to good by the Care Quality Commission following a recent inspection.

The independent regulator of health and adult social care in England carried out the visit to review progress made after previously raising concerns about the service. While the overall maternity service rating remains requires improvement, inspectors upgraded how well led and caring the service is to good, and newly rated both responsive and effective as good.

Inspectors reported that staff were working hard to support women throughout pregnancy and highlighted the availability of specialist midwives for mental health, safeguarding and bereavement support, as well as round the clock access to emergency mental health services. Leadership changes were also credited with creating a more open culture, with staff reporting increased confidence in raising concerns and contributing to improvements in care.

However, the inspection also identified areas requiring further development, including improvements to policies and audit processes and the availability of only one dedicated obstetric theatre for planned and emergency caesarean sections. The trust has been asked to produce an action plan to address these issues and will continue to be monitored to ensure ongoing improvements to patient safety and service delivery.