'Robust action plan' for maternity services now in place at East Surrey Hospital

The hospital – which cares for mums in Horsham and Crawley, as well as Surrey – had its maternity department downgraded by health regulators last month.

The Care Quality Commission rated the department as ‘requiring improvement’ having previously rated it as ‘outstanding.’

The Commission said the maternity department did not always have enough staff which put women’s and babies’ safety at risk; there were times when equipment checks were not complete, equipment and premises were not kept visibly clean, medicines were not always managed well, care records were not always completed and staff did not always follow infection control principles.

The downgrading of the department’s rating led to Horsham MP Jeremy Quin demanding a progress report from the hospital on what improvements it was making ‘to restore full confidence in the service.’

But the MP says he has now received assurances from the hospital’s chief executive that this is the hospital trust’s ‘absolute priority.’

"Since the inspection the hospital has put in place a robust action plan to tackle the issues raised by the Care Quality Commission,” he said. “This includes tougher infection control measures, more frequent cleanliness checks and more thorough daily safety checks of medicines and specialist emergency care equipment.