Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has just published two reports on its maternity services.

The reports were commissioned to help support the work it has been doing over the past two years to improve the quality, safety and experience of the care it provides to mothers, babies and families.

Following a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in April 2022, the trust's maternity services were rated 'inadequate' and it was issued a warning notice. A follow-up inspection in March 2024 resulted in a further warning for Gloucestershire and a 'requires improvement' rating for Stroud Maternity Unit.

The two external reviews were commissioned to identify what more it could learn from the deaths of seven mothers (2017-2023) and 44 newborn babies (2020-2023).

The reviews made a number of recommendations and highlighted some failings in care, including nine neonatal cases, where there were missed opportunities that could have potentially changed the outcome, for which the trust said it is deeply sorry.

Specific improvements include:

• Increased staffing levels, including the equivalent of 25 additional midwives and six obstetricians since April 2022

• New leadership structure and strengthened governance

• Improved induction process for agency staff

• Electronic access to maternity notes for women and families

• Following the latest best practice for risk assessment and reducing major bleeding after birth

• Improving blood clot risk assessments

• Strengthening the internal Freedom to Speak Up service

• Providing a range of support for families and staff

A BBC Panorama documentary aired in January 2024 highlighted concerns about maternity care at the trust between 2017 and 2021, including staffing challenges and the experiences of families and staff.

Kevin McNamara, chief executive officer, said: "We are already doing things differently and it is making a difference, but I fully acknowledge there is more to do. We continue to listen and learn from every conversation with families who have shared powerful and deeply personal reflections, giving us new insights to help improve care."

Meanwhile, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed that the maternity unit at Cheltenham General Hospital will remain closed for the foreseeable future. It was closed temporarily in 2022 due to staff shortages, as reported by the BBC.

It means women from Cheltenham and the surrounding area will continue to need to travel to Gloucester or Stroud to give birth.

The trust said it is focusing on recruiting additional obstetricians to support the growing number of women who require medical support. It added that while the number of babies born in Gloucestershire has fallen, the complexity of care has increased.