Mothers have shared their views on maternity services at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in the latest national Care Quality Commission (CQC) maternity survey 2024.

The survey asked mothers who had their baby or babies in February 2024 about their experience of care before, during and after birth.

In total, 203 new mothers responded to the survey, a response rate of 54.4%, above the national response rate of 45%. 51% of those who responded had given birth to their first baby.

The Royal Devon is pleased that patient experience was best in the following areas of the survey:

• Frequency of seeing or speaking to a midwife
• Information provided from a midwife or doctor to help people decide where to have their baby
• Being told who to contact if advice is needed about potential changes to mental health after birth
• Information provided from midwives to mothers about feeding their baby

Angela Bellamy, Director of Midwifery at the Royal Devon said: “At the Royal Devon, we are passionate about delivering safe and kind care to women accessing our services. We would like to thank those who have provided valuable insights by contributing to this survey”.

“Feedback is an essential tool in helping us to improve maternity services and we will use this information to identify those areas where we can better look after the women and babies we care for”.

“I would like to thank everyone who works in our Maternity services for the care and commitment you show to our patients every day, supporting parent’s mental health and wellbeing alongside physical care.”

There were some areas for improvement which the survey highlighted, including the amount of time those supporting mothers were able to stay with them, the information provided around the associated risks of induction of labour, ensuring patients feel concerns are taken seriously during labour and that the midwives or doctors appear aware of any medical history. The Trust will be working through these areas to identify any learning as part of its commitment to continuous improvement.