Princess Ann Hospital

The Princess Anne Hospital is part of University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, which has had foundation status since 1 October 2011. The hospital provides maternity and gynaecological services, and is across the road from the main general acute hospital. Services are provided to the local community of Southampton City, and areas of Hampshire and the New Forest.

Neonatal services are also provided at this location but were inspected under services for children and young people , in the Southampton General Hospital location report.

The trust had 80 maternity beds. Midwife-led and obstetrician-led services are provided for early pregnancy, antenatal, induction of labour and postnatal care. There is an antenatal clinic and early pregnancy assessment unit, a four bedded day assessment unit and a four bedded induction of labour ward. Inpatient care is provided on Lyndhurst Ward (12 beds primarily used as antenatal beds, but often also housing postnatal women and babies) and Burley Ward (a 22 bedded postnatal ward). The Broadlands Birth Centre, a midwife-led unit near the main obstetrics unit, consists of four birthing rooms, two of which are equipped with pools and four postnatal beds for newly delivered mothers and babies. The delivery suite consists of 15 birthing rooms. One of these rooms is used as a bereavement room, one contains a pool, and there is a two bedded high dependency bay. The theatre suite adjacent to the delivery suite comprises of two obstetric operating theatres.

There is also a free standing midwife-led unit known as the New Forest Birth Centre, located in Ashurst on the edge of the New Forest. The unit has seven postnatal beds, three of which are single rooms, and two birthing rooms with pools. Findings from our inspection of this unit are included in this report on maternity services.

The gynaecology service is provided in a 21 bedded gynaecology and breast care ward (Bramshaw), a gynaecology outpatients area, and a two chaired hyperemesis unit.

The inspection was part of an announced trust-wide inspection which took place on 10 and 11 December 2014, with unannounced visits on 13 and 14 January 2015. The team inspecting this location included CQC inspectors and analysts, doctors (obstetrician and gynaecologists), head of midwifery and gynaecology, and midwives.

Overall we rated the Princess Anne Hospital as ‘Good. We rated it good’ for providing effective, caring, responsive and well-led maternity and gynaecological services. But it ‘required improvement’ under safe services.

Our key findings were as follows: Is the service safe?

Incidents were reported and lessons were learnt and shared to prevent the likelihood of reoccurrence.

All areas were visibly clean, and staff were seen to adhere to good infection control and hand hygiene practices.

Staff were supported to identify and support women and babies at risk. Risk assessments were undertaken and actions to reduce the likelihood of harm occurred.

Hoisting equipment was available on Bramshaw Ward. But not all staff were aware of the location or correct use of equipment for the safe evacuation of a woman that may have collapsed in a birthing pool on the delivery suite or at the Broadlands Birth Centre.

There were two fully staffed obstetric theatres from 8am – 1pm every weekday. At all other times one theatre was immediately available for emergencies and a second team available to be called upon if the second theatre was needed.