By Jake Harrrison
February 6 2020, 12.45
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Kingston Hospital’s Maternity Service team has gained national recognition in a new survey.
The Care Quality Commission rated the maternity unit as ‘consistently good’ in a report carried out on behalf of the public body, who use the results to inform their regulation, monitoring and inspection of hospital trusts in England.
The survey showed that 97% of mothers had skin to skin contact shortly after birth, 98% of women reported said they were treated with respect and dignity, over 98% felt they were treated with kindness and understanding.
The analysis also announced that up to 99% of the women felt the midwives listened to them and around 98% had full confidence and trust in their midwives.
Gina Brockwell, director of midwifery at Kingston Hospital said: “We have a very committed maternity team and it is a credit to all their continuous efforts and dedication that we continue to deliver high quality maternity care.”
“In particular we’re pleased that the efforts we make to support skin to skin contact between the mother and her baby have been recognised.
“Skin to skin is important in helping form a bond and attachment and in addition research has shown that it aids brain development in new-born babies.
She continued: “We are pleased that the excellent care we provide is reflected positively in this latest survey.”
The positive news follows after the hospital’s home birth team was crowned Team of the Year, at the recent London Maternity and Midwifery Conference in London.
The team saw off strong competition at the annual festival, which was held at the ILEC Conference Centre, in Earl’s Court, last month, after very successful 2019 for the team, where some very big targets were reached.
The NHS district general hospital supports around 350,000 local people from across the boroughs of Kingston, Richmond, Roehampton, Putney and East Elmbridge.
In 2018, it became the first acute hospital trust in London to be rated Outstanding for overall quality and leadership by the national Care Quality Commission regulator.
Ms Brockwell commented: “We are always looking for ways to improve the experience of the women who choose to have their maternity care at Kingston and we value all feedback from families.”
