A Liverpool Trust has been ranked amongst the very best providers of maternity services in the country by healthcare regulators.
Liverpool Women's Hospital, which provides specialist health services for women, babies and their families, has again received one of the best scores in the country in a national survey of maternity services, conducted by regulators the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The survey particularly praised the Trust's efforts when it came to supporting mothers with feeding, ranking Liverpool Women's 2nd in the country.
Dianne Brown, Director of Nursing and Midwifery at Liverpool Women's, said: "The Trust has worked hard to increase the number of new mums who choose to breastfeed, culminating in us being fully accredited as part of UNICEF's 'Baby Friendly Initiative'. Being ranked second in the entire country for the support we offer in this respect is further testament to this."
The survey looked at the experiences of over 20’000 women who received maternity care at 133 Trusts across the UK during February 2015. Overall, Liverpool Women's was the seventh highest performing Trust in the country, of those who provide the full range of maternity services.
The survey also praised Liverpool Women's for being among the best Trusts in the country for providing opportunities for Skin to Skin contact between newborn babies and their parents, and for communicating clearly with patients.
Ms Brown added: "All of our midwives are passionate about providing opportunities for new parents to engage in skin to skin with their newborn babies. We have also worked hard to improve how we communicate with our patients and their families. Keeping patients informed and involved with their care can make such a difference to their whole experience. Last year the Trust invested in recruiting an additional 25 midwives, who are all now working within the service. This has enabled us to always provide 1:1 care for women during labour, and provide women with their pain relief of choice at birth, enhancing safety and optimising the experience of our women during their birth journey.”
One patient commented: "Midwives at the hospital did a fantastic job, both during labour & after, especially with assisting with establishing breastfeeding"
While another said: "I had the best care ever in Liverpool Women's. There was not one fault, from the midwife to doctor and even the cleaners."