Harrogate midwives 'delighted' as mums give them top marks in NHS survey

Midwives at Harrogate District Hospital were ‘delighted’ to discover that they have been ranked above other NHS Trusts in a survey completed by mums across the country.
Harrogate midwives 'delighted' as mums give them top marks in NHS surveyHarrogate midwives 'delighted' as mums give them top marks in NHS survey
Harrogate midwives 'delighted' as mums give them top marks in NHS survey

The national survey undertaken by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) saw Harrogate District NHS Foundation Trust’s Maternity Department score top marks in several areas.

The good news comes not long after a private midwifery organisation claimed that 66 per cent of mums said they wished they had been given more time with their midwife during their pregnancy.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Alison Pedlingham, Head of Midwifery for Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are delighted to see that we are performing better than other trusts on a number of questions in the CQC’s 2018 Maternity Survey.

“The results of the survey show that the hard work and dedication of all our Maternity staff is recognised by new mums who have used our services and given birth with us.

“We are particularly pleased to see that we are performing better in two of the question categories when compared to the previous years’ results.

“Thank you to all of those who took the time to respond to the survey and to help us identify what we are doing right and where we can make further improvements to our Maternity Services.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A recent survey of 300 mums, by Private Midwives, which has midwifes across the UK and Ireland, found that only one in three women felt they had enough time with their midwife and more than half resorted to consulting the internet for advice when their midwife was not on hand.

But Harrogate has blown those stats out the water.

Of the 135 women in Harrogate who responded to the CQC’s survey, all of them confirmed that they had a telephone number for their midwife of midwifery team that they could contact when they had returned home with baby.

The results of the survey show the average score given out of 10 for 50 questions.

Among the other areas raised, new mums scored the Trust the highest when they were asked whether they felt they were given appropriate advice and support; whether they felt they were treated with respect and dignity; and whether their midwife ensured a postnatal check-up of the mother’s own health.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

On average, Harrogate midwives were ranked more than eight out ten in three other questions too.

These showed how quickly new mums were able to get a member of staff to help them when they needed assistance in hospital, how well they received explanations to their queries and the active support and encouragement they received from Harrogate staff in regards to feeding their babies.