This national survey by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) was undertaken to gain an insight into women’s experiences of maternity services across England and highlights the Trust as having scored significantly better than the national average.
The poll was sent out in June of this year to 347 mothers who had used maternity services at Doncaster Royal Infirmary and Bassetlaw Hospital, asking them about their experiences of antenatal care, labour and birth, as well as postnatal care. The overall results show the Trust as scoring better than the national average with 91% of DBTH mums saying that the midwives listened to them during their antenatal check-ups, with 93% confirming that their partner was encouraged to be involved in their care.
Sharon Dickinson, Head of Midwifery at the Trust, said: “I’m very pleased with the results from the survey and proud of the experience mothers and families have whilst using maternity services provided by our hospitals.
“Feedback like this is vital and helps us to understand what we are doing well and also where we can make further improvements, for example we are already looking at constructive feedback, such as the 25% of mums who felt they weren’t given a choice of where they could have their baby, and what we can do better in future.”
Local mum, Charlie Spink, who gave birth to daughter Elsie on Monday 22 January 2018, said: “Thank you to the amazing midwives who supported me throughout my labour. The compassion and encouragement I received helped me to get through my labour, making the whole experience so much better.”
Each year, Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals delivery approximately 5,000 babies, with the service continually looking for ways to develop and improve for expectant mums and dads.