A hospital leader in Newcastle gave the Royal Victoria Infirmary's maternity unit a personal vote of confidence despite a critical Care Quality Commission report - saying he wouldn't want family members to give birth anywhere else.
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust medical director Andy Welch was speaking a meeting of the trust's board last week when he said he backed staff and felt other sources of data such as patient outcomes did not chime with the CQC criticism. The maternity unit was hit with a "requires improvement" rating following an inspection this January.
Inspectors felt there were "gaps" in some staff training and some equipment was out of date. When the report was published in May, hospital bosses said they did not think the report was a "fair reflection" of the service - and highlighted "many positive findings" also in the report.
