The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published the results of the National Maternity Survey for 2022.
The aim of the survey is to find out what people think about their experiences of antenatal care, childbirth and postnatal care. It is part of CQC's national patient survey programme to improve experiences of maternity care.
At County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust we strive to be open and transparent Trust and always try to do the right thing for our women, babies and their families.
You can read the NHS Maternity Services Survey 2022 Benchmark Report for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust here.
Joanne Crawford Head of Midwifery of County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said: "We welcome this report and any opportunity to listen to feedback from our patients.
"We were pleased to see that women feel listened to and value the relationship with their midwife during their pregnancy and particularly their extended care into the postnatal period.
"Our maternity teams continue to work hard together to make improvements to our services and these results and feedback are important in helping us to shape our maternity services going forward for our communities.
"We accept the concerns raised around visiting restrictions which reflect the time this survey was carried out. In February 2022 our covid rates were particularly high and we wanted to ensure the safety of our vulnerable patient's mums and babies as much as possible. Our restrictions have eased significantly as covid rates have declined.
"We have already been analysing the results and using them to help us to continue to make positive changes. Next week we will be working closely with our Maternity Voices Partnership (MVP) to coproduce an action plan relating to these findings. We are not only looking at the areas of concern but also looking at the aspects where we can build on, to ensure the service we provide is the best it can be.
"We have an excellent relationship with our MVP and work closely together to provide improvements to the environment and overall experience of our patients such as the new next to me cots and the 15 Steps visits where we have updated information on our displays. We are always listening and striving to improve.
"This survey represents only 3% of the annual deliveries we have at Durham and Darlington and we feel our maternity services are in a more positive position since February 2022."
If you are receiving maternity care at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, or have done so in the past and you are affected by anything you have read in the published report, please get in touch with us via your midwife or our Patient Experience Team by calling 0800 783 5774 or email Cdda-tr.patientexperiencecddft@nhs.net and we will support you as much as we can.
You can also contact your local Maternity Voices Partnership (MVP) if you would like to share details of your experience. Cathy Harvey is the County Durham and Darlington MVP Chair: cddmvp@gmail.com
The full results of the National Maternity Survey can be found here: Maternity survey 2022 - Care Quality Commission (cqc.org.uk)
'I would like to thank all the staff for my treatment and their professionalism.'
Patient, Cardiology Department, Bishop Auckland Hospital