Nottingham City Hospital

Ratings

• Overall

  Good

• Safe

  Good

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Outstanding

• Responsive

  Good

• Well-led

  Good

Our view of the service

Date of assessment: 20 to 21 May 2025.

Nottingham City Hospital provides a range of NHS hospital services. This assessment looked at
maternity services to provide an up-to-date rating of this assessment service group, which we rated as
requires improvement. The rating of maternity has been combined with the ratings of the other
services from the last inspections. See our previous reports to get a full picture of all the other services
at Nottingham City Hospital.

The rating of Nottingham City Hospital remains requires improvement. In our assessment of
maternity services, we found learning was not always based on openness and was not always shared
effectively. Security arrangements did not always keep women and their babies safe. There were gaps in consultant staffing. Managers did not always make sure staff received training and regular appraisals. Leaders did not always support staff well-being. Leaders were not always visible within the service and were sometimes perceived as unsupportive. Staff were encouraged to feedback but not always heard. This encouragement was not always based on openness and was not always effective.

However, women were involved in assessments of their needs and these were reviewed regularly throughout the pregnancy journey. Care provided was evidence based. Women were supported in healthy living. Staff made sure women understood their care and treatment to enable them to give informed consent. Women were treated with kindness and compassion. Women consistently had nothing but praise for their experience throughout their pregnancy, birth, and postnatal experience. Maternity services provided information women, and their families could understand. Women received fair and equal care and treatment because the service worked to reduce health and care inequalities through training and feedback. Women were involved in planning their care and understood options around choosing to withdraw or not receive care. Managers worked with the maternity and neonatal partnership to deliver the best possible care and were receptive to new ideas.

We found breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 in the following areas:

• Safe care and treatment - in relation to security.
• Good governance – in relation to organisational culture, staff wellbeing and engagement, and
  the visibility of leadership.
• Staffing – in relation to consultant staffing arrangements and compliance with safeguarding
  training requirements.