Management and medical staff from the maternity unit at St George’s Hospital were quizzed by Sadiq Khan MP last week following a highly critical Healthcare Commission Report released in January.

The official visit was part of his follow-up work on previous meetings with representatives of the hospital.

Sadiq Khan MP had concerns about the quality of care given to pregnant women and new mothers at the hospital, and visited the facilities to see firsthand improvements that had been made, and to talk with doctors, nurses and ward managers about the future of the maternity unit.

In January this year the maternity care at St George’s Hospital in Tooting was heavily criticised, along with a number of other London NHS trusts, as being one of the ‘least well performing’ units in the UK. The Healthcare Commission found huge variation in quality of care across England with women in London receiving the worst service. The report also highlighted problems with staffing and inadequate screening checks in some trusts.

Three months later and St George’s is making enormous progress in response to the report, as witnessed during Sadiq Khan MP’s visit to the St George’s Lanesborough Wing, which houses the delivery suite, Antenatal and postnatal ward and Antenatal screening and assessment unit.

Sadiq Khan MP said “Having a baby is supposed to be the happiest experience of your life. Unfortunately, some local mums have not had good experiences. Care before, during, and after birth should be of an excellent standard, and it is important that our hospital provides this with the best facilities and staff.

‘After the Healthcare Commission report in January there may have been a tendency among the staff to be demoralised but the effect has been the exact opposite, and the team have pulled together to make sure that the care they offer to patients and their babies has improved.’

‘I am impressed by the recent improvements made to the service provided in the maternity unit, and also by the work that is being done at St George’s in relation to maternity care.’

‘I am been reassured by my visit and meetings that the staff take the concerns of the report very seriously, and are committed to further improvements.’