An authoritative survey of maternity services across the country has shown that women having babies at both Epsom and St Helier hospitals are very happy with the care they receive.
The Care Quality Commission's 'Survey of women's experiences of maternity services 2010', shows that the Trust is performing very well in a number of key areas, including the overall level of care given to new mums throughout their pregnancy and labour.
We also scored highly on the cleanliness of our hospitals and the availability of antenatal classes.
The survey showed also that:
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95% of new mums rated their care during labour and birth as excellent, very good or good;
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94% said their care during pregnancy was excellent, very good or good;
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86% rated their care after giving birth as excellent, very good or good.
Pippa Hart, Director of Nursing said: "These figures are a reflection of the hard work and commitment of all of our midwives, doctors and other staff. Having a baby is one of the most important times in a woman's life and it's only right that they - and their partner - receive the best possible care before, during and after giving birth."
As part of our ongoing commitment to parents-to-be, the Trust continues to invest in improving maternity services at both Epsom and St Helier hospitals.
Last year, work finished on a major £2.8 million upgrade of the maternity unit at St Helier Hospital. Improvements included opening a new birth centre where women can give birth naturally in a home-from-home environment and a £440,000 refurbishment of our gynaecology ward.
At Epsom, a new maternity assessment unit, where women who may have suffered complications during a previous pregnancy are given same-day scans, has just been launched.
Pippa added: "I am pleased with these results, but it doesn't stop here. We must work hard to maintain and improve on these results and, importantly, focus on those areas where we know we can do even better."
