CQC rates Great Western Hospital maternity service as requires improvement

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated the maternity service at Great Western Hospital in Swindon as requires improvement following an inspection carried out in January 2026.

The inspection was undertaken to review progress since the regulator’s previous visit. Great Western Hospital, which is operated by Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, continues to hold an overall good rating.

CQC re-rated the maternity service as requires improvement for both safe and well-led, while the effective, caring and responsive domains were all rated good.

Inspectors found the service was in breach of regulations relating to governance and management, identifying shortcomings in auditing arrangements, target setting and benchmarking processes.

The inspection also identified several areas requiring improvement, including:

• Out-of-date maternity guidelines, with 21 of 138 clinical guidelines overdue for review.
• Inconsistent use of the maternity early warning tool designed to identify women whose condition may be deteriorating.
• A backlog of 77 maternity incidents awaiting review or closure, limiting opportunities for timely learning.
• The maternity care centre waiting area could not be continuously observed by staff, creating a potential safety risk if a patient became acutely unwell.
• The second maternity operating theatre did not meet current standards because of ventilation issues and was only available for emergency use while funding for remedial work was being sought.
• The trust could not provide evidence to demonstrate that all women readmitted to the postnatal ward were being reviewed by a consultant within 14 hours, although it reported that performance had improved.

The CQC also highlighted examples of positive practice. Inspectors found women consistently described staff as kind, supportive and respectful, and said concerns raised by women had led to improvements, including the development of an educational video explaining the induction of labour process.

Other strengths identified included:

• Access to a specialist bereavement midwife, with ongoing support available for families, including during future pregnancies where appropriate.
• A birth reflections service allowing women and families to discuss their birth experience and ask questions.
• Above-average results in the 2025 national maternity survey for mental health support during pregnancy.
• Good communication and support for women and their partners during planned caesarean births.

The CQC said it will continue to monitor the trust’s progress as it implements the improvements identified during the inspection.

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