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Portsmouth Maternity Unit Downgraded Over Safety Concerns
25 Sep
Summary
- Maternity care at Queen Alexandra Hospital downgraded to 'requires improvement'.
- Staff shortages led to long delays and women being sent elsewhere.
- Breaches of regulations include repeat safeguarding training failures.
Maternity services at Queen Alexandra Hospital and associated birth centers in Portsmouth have been downgraded from 'good' to 'requires improvement' by inspectors. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) cited significant staffing shortages as the primary cause for the decline.
These shortages placed the Queen Alexandra unit under high pressure on 267 days over the past year. As a consequence, some women experienced delays exceeding six hours for induction, and others were transferred to neighboring trusts. Inspectors identified five breaches of regulations across the three inspected sites.
A notable concern was the repeated failure to ensure adequate safeguarding training for staff. Across the trust's maternity services, only 29% of doctors had completed their required safeguarding training. Despite these systemic issues, women reported feeling safe and well cared for during their interactions with staff.
