AIREDALE Hospital has been praised for its standard of maternity care and treatment.

Results of a survey published by the Care Quality Commission show that women scored the NHS trust highly for being involved in decisions about their care, good communication and provision of mental health support.

All women who gave birth at the hospital in February last year received a questionnaire, and 140 – just over half – responded.

They were asked about their experiences at different stages of the maternity 'journey' – antenatal and postnatal, and during labour and the birth.

Airedale outperformed most other NHS trusts in a number of areas – including patients being treated with dignity and respect during pregnancy, labour and birth, and with kindness and understanding while in hospital post-birth.

And it scored well for factors such as antenatal check ups, and having confidence and trust in the staff.

Improvements were seen in several categories compared to the 2021 survey, including receiving sufficient information when deciding where to have the baby and being given details of Covid restrictions and implications for care.

Sarah Simpson, director of midwifery at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, says: "We want to thank all the women who shared their experiences through this survey – it’s a very important part of how we develop our service for the future, with women at the very centre. I’m especially pleased too for our staff, that their hard work and dedication is reflected in how women feel about their care.

"The results show how we’re supporting women with planning personalised care, by having meaningful conversations throughout their pregnancy about what’s important to them. It’s a very bespoke plan of care.

"The feedback also reflects all the work we’ve done to ensure women have mental health support, by introducing a specialist early intervention midwife and improving training and education for all our midwives.

"Women’s voices are at the core of what we do. This survey is just one of many ways that we listen, learn and improve, to make sure we’re responsive to what women say. We also work very closely with the Maternity Voices Partnership Group, which has been involved in recent projects such as a review of our new website and our clinical areas to make sure everyone has the best experience from the moment they get in touch or access the service."

For more about the midwifery service, visit facebook.com/airedalemidwives.