"absolutely nothing"

The Trust apologises that we did not meet the standards of care that you expected. The experience of each and every patient is important to us, and we take action following your comments. However, please note that if you complaint formally by writing to the Chief Executive or emailing complaints@mkhospital.nhs.uk then the Trust will be able to make specific changes to improve care quality and you will receive a reply from our Chief Executive about your specific concerns.

We can assure you that the hospital is working hard to improve the services that we deliver to local mothers and families. We are committed to raising the standards of our maternity services.

Patient safety and the delivery of high quality care are our top priorities. Improvements to our services for women and children have been taken forward over recent months. We have restructured clinical governance, initiated more multidisciplinary working involving all Maternity Unit staff and several successful staff recruitment campaigns were run over the summer. In order to ensure that staffing levels grow with the rising birth rate in the local area our recruitment drive is ongoing.

Staff recognise that the experience of each and every woman is important. Consultant presence on the Labour Ward has increased, which has improved communication between staff members.

Some of the improvements implemented are below:

An ongoing recruitment campaign is central to service development. 18 midwives have been recruited since January 2008. Having secured additional funds the Trust is making steady progress in recruiting high calibre midwives.

The Trust is committed to increasing capacity and more postnatal beds have been opened.

Consultant presence on the Labour Ward has been increased. This means greater support for midwives, junior doctors and other Maternity Department staff regarding decision-making and improved communications between midwives and consultants.

More supervisors of midwives are currently in training to decrease the number of midwives per supervisor of midwives. This is set to help improve team working, deliver high quality care and ensure self-regulation.

Guidelines are reviewed by multidisciplinary teams, which include consultants, registrars, midwives and maternity care assistants.

Milton Keynes Hospital is working in partnership with the local Primary Care Trust to support the provision of a range of services to improve access, quality and choice in Maternity Services.