£736,000 needed to improve trust's maternity care

The trust that runs York and Scarborough hospitals needs about £736,000 to meet national maternity and neonatal care requirements, health chiefs said.

NHS England recently introduced a Maternity and Neonatal 10 Point Plan detailing "urgent actions" needed across the country following the independent investigation into services by Baroness Amos.

Delivery of the improvements at the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust by March 2027 was currently "at risk", bosses said, citing workforce pressures and funding challenges.

Midwifery director Sascha Wells-Munro said the estimate "reflects the additional investment we have assessed is needed to meet these national requirements".

Wells-Munro told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "Improving maternity and neonatal safety is a national priority, and all NHS trusts providing these services are being asked to implement further improvements following recent independent reviews of maternity care."

According to a trust board report, compliance with some maternity triage standards currently stood at 58.7%, with further work needed to meet the national requirements.

It said full delivery of the improvements by March 2027 remained at risk, but work to improve services had already begun.

Wells-Munro said: "We have already been working to strengthen maternity triage and assessment across our hospital sites, alongside our continued focus on safe staffing."

The trust said it would continue working with women and families as part of the improvement programme through its Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnerships.

Seeking to reassure patients, Wells-Munro pointed to recent inspections by the Care Quality Commission.

She said: "While we recognise there is more to do, families can take reassurance from our recent Care Quality Commission inspections, which rated maternity services at both York and Scarborough hospitals as good across all areas assessed."

She added that the trust remained committed to meeting all national standards.

"Our priority remains providing safe, compassionate and high-quality care for women, babies and families, and we are committed to meeting the national standards for the services we are commissioned to provide by our Integrated Care Board."

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