By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter
Nottingham City Council’s health scrutiny committee has penned a letter to the Health Secretary about failing maternity services after feeling they had “no choice” but to address the issue.
Councillor Georgia Power (Lab) has written to Sajid Javid regarding concerns about the pace of improvement to maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals which are causing “significant anxiety for the public”.
The Trust’s maternity services at Queen’s Medical Centre and City Hospital are rated ‘inadequate’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Parents whose babies have died at the trust are calling for a Public Inquiry, which is backed by a number of Nottingham MPs and councillors.
Chair of the Nottingham City Council Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee Cllr Power said during the meeting on March 17: “It’s fair to say we have been concerned with the pace of progress.
“We felt we had no choice to write to the Secretary of State and CQC on the issue.
“It was not an easy decision that the committee came to.
“We are concerned about staffing issues and we are also conscious that isn’t just a Nottingham issue, it is a national issue and the Secretary of State needs to ensure he is doing what he can to fill those gaps.”
The letter stated: “The Nottingham City Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee is concerned that the Trust has been unable to demonstrate necessary improvement is taking place at sufficient pace to provide the Committee and, most importantly, the citizens of Nottingham with assurance on the safety and quality of services provided. It is a situation that is causing significant anxiety for the public and service users.”
It added that “high quality, credible leadership is crucial for driving improvement in the Trust”.
The CQC rated the trust inadequate for how ‘well led’ it is in September 2021.
The Clinical Commissioning Group is currently carrying out its own review into maternity services at the trust, which is due to complete in November 2022.
Cllr Power’s letter added: “We are aware that others have called for a public inquiry into maternity services.
“At this time, we do not support that as an approach as we believe the concerns around safety are very much a live issue, and believe that the thematic review is best placed to address these concerns at pace, but we are clear that this cannot carry on.
“While our Committee will continue to do what it can locally to hold the Trust to account, it is felt that the scale of the issues, and the lack of evidence and assurance to us from the Trust regarding its improvement, means that this needs escalating to yourself, as the Secretary of State with the responsibility for health and the NHS.”
The letter described staffing issues in the sector and asked what actions the Health Secretary was taking to “remedy this issue urgently”.
The committee has also written to the healthcare watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to express concerns about the trust.
The Trust said in a statement earlier this month it was doing “everything in our power to ensure the families using our maternity services get the best possible care”.
