My name is Amanda Rowley, and I am director of midwifery at the Lister Hospital in Stevenage.

I joined the trust in late 2022, just after a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection which rated the service as inadequate.

Having our service rated by the CQC as inadequate is disappointing, and I recognise that the news will be worrying for anyone who is booked to have their baby with us or is considering doing so.

We accepted the CQC’s findings and are now on a journey of continuous improvement. I want to reassure anyone considering having their baby at the Lister Hospital that our maternity unit remains a safe place to have your baby and that we are committed to providing you with the best possible care.

We have already increased staffing levels and improved our cleaning regime and have brought in new and improved equipment, including new bed and cot mattresses and baby heartbeat monitors.

We have daily equipment checks in all areas and dedicated cleaning colleagues who work across the unit. We know that getting these basic things right is a significant part of providing our community and service users with confidence in our service.

Having a safe and welcoming environment is key to providing our women and birthing people with a calm atmosphere to deliver their babies.

We’ve installed a new call bell system on our antenatal and postnatal wards and a new security system to monitor and manage visitors to the unit.

We’ve also improved our bathroom facilities and have an ongoing programme of work to upgrade the older areas of our maternity unit.

We have introduced the Birmingham Symptom Specific Obstetric Triage System (BSOTS), a nationally recognised system which assists our staff in prioritising care for anyone concerned about the health of their baby or their pregnancy.

BSOTS helps expectant parents see midwives and Doctors promptly in our newly renovated maternity triage clinic and to confidently manage their care in a supportive environment.

It’s really important that we listen to and work with our local community, as this a key part of what helps us make sure our service reflects the needs of women, birthing people and their families accessing our services.

We work closely with the Lister Maternity Voices Partnership (MVP), which is run by volunteers – existing and previous service users as well as local doulas and birth educators – who represent service users’ voices within our local communities, working alongside us to help drive improvements.

We value feedback from women, birthing people and their families as this helps us to improve our services further.

I would actively encourage people to share their experiences with us, either directly or through the MVP, so that we can continue to make positive changes.

We are proud to have delivered 1,445 babies at the Lister since the New Year.

If you are either due to have your baby with us or you are considering choosing the Lister Hospital for your care, there is more information on our website about the improvements we have made since the inspection, as well as answers to frequently asked questions. Follow the link from www.enherts-tr.nhs.uk.

There is also more information about the MVP at https://www.enherts-tr.nhs.uk/services/maternity/lister-mvp/