National review of maternity services in England 2022 to 2024

The Care Quality Commission have published a series of online resource materials aimed at sharing good practice and encouraging improvement in NHS hospital maternity services. 

Developed in collaboration with providers, maternity staff and stakeholder organisations, the resources are aimed at maternity service staff at all levels to help support their efforts to deliver high-quality care and make improvements where needed.

The resources sit alongside a new report, which presents the findings from their recent national maternity inspection programme. The report highlights common issues impacting on the quality and safety of NHS hospital maternity services across the country. 

While they know that many of the issues highlighted in the report are systemic, there are opportunities for services to improve and learn from one another. 

Based on evidence from our national inspection programme and engagement with providers, maternity staff and stakeholder organisations, the resources are based around 4 themes: 

leadership and culture 

safety incidents 

triage processes and procedures 

healthcare equity. 

Each area includes information relating to: 

what good looks like

what we look for on inspection

an example of excellent practice. 

They have also created a space that links to guidance and good practice from other organisations.