West Suffolk Hospital's maternity services 'needs improvements'

A hospital has been warned it needs to improve its maternity services.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) issued a warning notice to the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, which must improve by 31 January.

It has not released details but the hospital said inspectors flagged up how it recorded observations and monitored women in its care.

A hospital spokeswoman said: "We have taken this feedback seriously and are acting accordingly."

She added: "Concerns have been raised about how we record patient observations after we have taken them, which are currently not in line with national guidance.

"The CQC also identified that we should make changes to the way we monitor women in our care, again to bring us in line with national guidance.

"We are making the necessary changes and the CQC is satisfied with the plans we have in place to make the improvements required."

Inspectors carried out two two-day inspections a month apart, in September and October.

The CQC said it would continue to monitor the trust and return unannounced to inspect the hospital.

Shauna Tate, chair of the families and NHS working group West Suffolk Maternity Voices Partnership, said: "We feel that the West Suffolk maternity team provide outstanding care to local families and are confident in their ability to improve the services they offer and act accordingly to the recent CQC notice."

The hospital was rated outstanding - with maternity services judged as good - in its previous inspection report in January 2018.