A SURVEY has revealed that women giving birth with Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust feel they are given information in a way they can understand and that their birthing partners are involved as much as they want them to be.

The 2017 Maternity Survey, part of the patient survey programme co-ordinated by the Care Quality Commission, asked new mums to answer questions about different aspects of their care and treatment.

The Care Quality Commission report shows how Hampshire Hospitals scored for each question in the survey compared with the range of results from all other Trusts that took part. For each question, responses are converted into scores on a scale of zero to 10, with higher scores indicating more positive responses.

Hampshire Hospitals scored 9.7 out of 10 when mums were asked if their birthing nine-and-a-half out of 10 when mums were asked if they were spoken to in a way they could understand.

The results for the Trust, which runs Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, Royal Hampshire County Hospital at Winchester, and Andover War Memorial Hospital, are available on the Care Quality Commission website. They also show that Hampshire Hospitals scored better than most other Trusts that took part in the survey in terms of mums feeling that their concerns were taken seriously during labour and birth.

Alex Whitfield, chief executive of Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I’m delighted that new mums are happy with the way they are spoken to by our amazing maternity staff and that birthing partners are able to play as big a role as women want them to.

“It is fantastic to know that the dedication and the teamwork shown by the staff in our maternity team is making a real difference to women and their families.

“We are always striving to improve and we will use the survey results, alongside other feedback, to look at how we can make things even better for new mums in the future.”