Today's report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is focussed specifically on the provision of maternity services at Bedford Hospital and follows on from an inspection in 2018. That earlier inspection rated the services as “Requiring Improvement” but the current findings rate the maternity services at Bedford Hospital as “Inadequate”. Inadequate means that the service is performing badly and that the CQC has taken action against the hospital to secure improvement. The CQC report notes that “The trust took some immediate actions and developed an action plan to address the concerns raised.”
Richard commented: “I am grateful to the CQC for their rigorous inspection and to the Chief Executive of the Bedfordshire Hospitals Trust for discussing with me the plans for improvement, many of which have already been implemented.
"I conveyed the importance that the deficiencies identified in the report, in terms of leadership and consequential concerns for staff, are addressed. I am reassured that the Chief Executive both recognises this need and has already taken decisive action. These should result in improvements over the months to come and I hope the CQC will continue to monitor maternity services provision in Bedford Hospital.”
