THE DIRECTOR of Midwifery at the Countess of Chester Hospital is to hold a Q&A session in the wake of the damning Care Quality Commission report.

The report, which branded the hospital and its maternity service as ‘inadequate’, made a difficult read for many involved with the hospital but Director of Midwifery, Natasha Macdonald will be answering any questions relating to the CQC report in a Q&A session on Tuesday.

In a statement, Ms Macdonald said: “I know that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) report will have caused some concern, anxiety, and disappointment with our families – particularly those who are already using our services or those who are planning to in the future.

“I want to assure everyone that we are addressing the areas that have been highlighted in the report to ensure we provide the service that our families want and expect.

“The team who work in our Women’s and Children’s services are dedicated and are committed to providing a high-quality safe service. Every day, I see for myself the way that our Maternity Team goes above and beyond for our patients, taking into account the individual needs of them and their families.

"I am really proud that the CQC noted that women have been, and are, treated with compassion and kindness and that their privacy and dignity is respected.

“The CQC report has highlighted that our outcomes for families are in line with, or better than, other Trusts in the northwest coast area for neonatal deaths, stillbirths and babies requiring cooling for the period between April 2021 and March 2022.

"I am pleased that we have good outcomes for our families, and I know that the Maternity team takes great pride in their work and will want to ensure we continue and further improve our standards in future.

“We are continuing to focus on the CQC recommendations, and our Maternity Team will be central to making sure we improve our services in the best way for our patients and their families."

Working alongside the maternity team is local independent group Chester Maternity Voices Partnership (MVP). The group is seeking feedback from anyone who has used the Countess of Chester maternity service in the last three years and is urging the public to fill out a survey which can be filled out online or following appointments.

Katie Jones, chair of Chester MVP, said: “Having seen the comments on social media regarding the recent CQC report, we wanted to provide an opportunity for the community to bring their questions and/or concerns to the maternity team in hope of reducing any anxiety felt amongst local families.”

The Q&A session will be held on Tuesday, June 21 at 8pm via Microsoft Teams, which can be accessed via the Chester Maternity Voices Partnership Facebook page, whilst surveys can be filled out at https://forms.gle/71cRULWi2AjxqwWw7

For further information, contact Katie Jones at Chestermaternityvoices@gmail.com