The University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust is back in the spotlight following a recent inspection from the CQC. The CQC published its final report on 20 September 2023, concluding that the maternity services are “inadequate”.

A notice has been issued to University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, which is responsible for running Leicester Royal Infirmary (LRI) and Leicester General Hospital (LGH) amongst others “to focus the trusts attention on rapidly making the necessary improvements ”

The CQC said that there had been a deterioration in the level of care at Leicester Royal Infirmary and Leicester General Hospital and were noted to be regularly understaffed. This placed women and their babies at risk. It also meant that staff could not take their breaks, which affected their well-being, morale and ability to do their job.

As well as staffing issues, the CQC highlighted risk assessments and medicine storage as some of the wider issues that require significant improvement to ensure a better standard of care is provided.

It is reported that the Trust are already implementing changes, including hiring more midwives to improve their maternity services. However, they acknowledge that there is much more to be done to guarantee the safety of women and babies.

At Switalskis, we represent many families who have been affected by inadequate maternity services across the UK. The consequences of inadequate maternity services are devastating and life altering. We support the need for change to ensure that our client’s receive a higher standard of care so as to avoid the outcomes we are currently seeing.

We invite anyone who has been affected by the maternity services at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust to get in touch so that we can begin to support them.  Call 0800 138 0458 or email help@switalskis.com