SOUTH Essex hospitals do not have enough nursing and midwifery staff to keep mums and babies safe, a watchdog has found following an inspection.

The Mid and South Essex NHS Trust – which manages Southend, Basildon and Broomfield hospitals – has been ordered to improve in a care quality commission report published today.

Inspectors raised major concerns about the maternity units at all three hospitals, particularly around staffing levels.

However, trust bosses have revealed that 52 newly qualified midwives have joined the hospitals since the inspection was carried out across a series of days in August, September, and October this year.

The trust is being rated requires improvement overall. Basildon Hospitals maternity services were previously rated as inadequate in 2020.

The hospital’s maternity was slammed by the CQC twice in reports in 2020, when inspectors said “long-standing poor staff culture had created an ineffective team where doctors, midwives and other healthcare professionals did not support each other to provide good care”.

On the most recent inspection of Basildon Hospital, inspectors said: “The service did not have enough nursing and midwifery staff to keep women and babies safe.

“The trust had previously had challenges with the recruitment of midwives due to the national shortage in this staff group.

“Out of 579 pieces of equipment, 83 of them were out of date for servicing. Of these pieces of equipment, 85.6 per cent were compliant with portable appliance testing.”

The report also criticised Southend Hospital for staffing levels.

Inspectors said: “The service did not always have enough nursing and midwifery staff to keep women and babies safe.

“Managers told us they had a recruitment plan which included international recruitment, a return to practice midwives and increasing the number of student midwives.”

Acting Chief Executive Hannah Coffey said: “The inspectors highlighted that there were issues with staffing across maternity services nationally, and told the trust it must take action to improve the situation.

“We have made great strides in improving maternity staffing since the CQC visited us. I am delighted that all of the student midwives who trained with us have applied to work here, so we have 52 enthusiastic newly qualified midwives in our departments.”