Health Minister Welcomes HIW Reports Into Gwent Maternity And Mental Health Services

Main Category: Mental Health
Also Included In: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 12 Feb 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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Health Minister Edwina Hart welcomed the publication of Healthcare Inspectorate Wales' reports on reviews into maternity and community and mental health services at Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust.

The Maternity Services Review was prompted by concerns about the higher than expected number of maternal deaths which were drawn to the attention of HIW during their all Wales review of maternity services in 2007. The Leadership and Management of Community and Mental Health Services Review was prompted by the findings from an earlier review of Learning Disabilities, the emerging findings from the all Wales review of maternity services, and concerns Mrs Hart expressed in the Senedd in May 2008.

The reports aim to assure the Minister, staff and the public that services are safe and that measures are in place to further improve the services for the benefit of patients and staff. The Minister believes the reports achieve that.

"Midwives raised concerns with me directly on a visit the new Assembly Government-funded unit at the Royal Gwent Hospital last year. They had concerns over staffing and management of the service. This, together with the concerns highlighted by HIW in a previous review, resulted in a review of maternity services, and following initial feedback from HIW, the Trust's maternity services were put into special measures. I also asked the Chief Nursing Officer, Rosemary Kennedy, and a range of senior health professionals to work with the Trust to take immediate action to rectify the problems.

"I am pleased that a new Head of Midwifery and Clinical Director for Obstetrics have been appointed along with more midwives. I am assured that the services have improved and that the service is safe. However, more needs to be done and HIW is keeping the maternity service in special measures to ensure the improvements are sustained.

"Members also raised concerns about community and mental health services, and I therefore asked HIW to consider this as part of their investigation into the Trust. "I am heartened the report recognises the hard work and dedication of all staff within the Trust to deliver high-quality care to patients.

"But the review highlights a number of concerns which requires early attention - in particular, the existence of ligature points and more widely, about the quality of the care environment for the patients being provided with mental health services.

"Assurances have been received from the Trust that all patients assessed as being at risk are managed appropriately. A number of improvements to the environment have already been made and more are planned

"Although the Trust has made progress and its services have improved, more needs to be done to ensure that there are improvements in the quality of healthcare services that its staff and the Welsh Assembly Government expect.

"Given the issues around leadership of the two services within the Trust, HIW, on my behalf, has asked the senior management to review the management and leadership of all its divisions.

"I must stress to the Trust management that frontline staff must be listened to in developing and implementing changes to the services. They are best placed to know exactly what needs to be done.

"Let me be clear, I will be monitoring progress at the Trust, and if I am not satisfied that it is moving swiftly, I will consider what further action to take to ensure patients receive the care they need and staff are supported and have a good quality working environment."

Note

Both reports can be obtained at http://www.hiw.org.uk

Source:
Bethan Dix
Healthcare Inspectorate Wales

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