Services among best in country

WELCOME NEWS Maternity services in our district have improved, according to a patient survey.

A Care Quality Commission study found improvements had been made in maternity services at Dewsbury, Pinderfields and Pontefract hospitals since 2010.

Almost 200 women took part in a survey on their experiences at the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust.

The organisation scored above average on seven questions and was “about the same” in the remaining 38 questions in the survey.

Mid Yorkshire was better than most for involving mothers in decisions about antenatal care and taking personal circumstances into account, and asking mums how they felt at home after birth.

Head of midwifery Anne Ward said: “We are delighted that the results of this survey are so positive. “We are now looking at the CQC’s findings to review in detail what mothers have told us to see if there are opportunities to make the service even better.”

But it scored just 4.9 out of 10 for offering expectant mothers a choice of where to give birth.

And the score for giving mums a choice for where antenatal check-up would take place was only 3.1.

Ms Ward said: “We recognise there are areas where we have further work to do and we are striving to make improvements at every stage.”