Maternity staff at DCH are celebrating the improved report from CQC inspectors. Picture: DCH

DCH maternity services upgraded to ‘good’ after CQC inspection

Paul JonesSeptember 30, 20250 Comment0

MATERNITY services at Dorset County Hospital have been upgraded after a visit by inspectors.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has revised the rating of maternity services at DCH from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’ following an inspection in May.

Inspectors said significant improvements in several areas had been made since their last visit and requirements of their recommendations met.

Now, the service’s well-led and safe ratings have been revised to good, while categories of effective, caring and responsive were not inspected and retain their previous rating, also of good.

The overall rating for DCH has also been upgraded to good.

Chief nursing officer for DCH and Dorset HealthCare, Dawn Dawson, said: “I am delighted that our maternity service has been rated as ‘good’ by the Care Quality Commission following their recent inspection.

“The rating reflects the way in which our dedicated, professional, compassionate teams provide safe, high-quality care for our women and birthing people and their babies. We are not complacent and will continue to listen to feedback to build on the good practice already in place.”

Director of nursing for DCH, Jo Howarth, said: “We are incredibly proud of our maternity teams for this well-deserved recognition.

“In a national climate where maternity services are being closely examined, this rating is a testament to the hard work and resilience of our staff, and their unwavering focus on delivering high-quality care to women and families in Dorset.

“We know this isn’t the case for all and remain committed to further enhancing maternity care and ensuring that every woman receives the safest and most supportive experience possible.”

And DCH director of midwifery and neonatal services, Jo Hartley, added: “The improvements identified by the CQC team are a reflection of the dedication of everyone in the maternity team to ensure families using our service receive the highest quality of care.

“The support we have received from our maternity improvement advisor has been invaluable and we look forward to continuing our improvement journey.”

The news comes as births at DCH rose due to the closure of maternity services at Yeovil District Hospital – with 96 babies born in Dorset who would otherwise have been delivered in Somerset, according to figures released in August.