Our performance

We really value your feedback on our maternity services. Here's how we're doing.

What we're working on

We use your feedback to improve our services. Here's what we're working on at the moment:

• Accommodating partners
  New mothers told us that they didn't always feel that their partners were able to stay with them as long as they wanted. Since then, extended visiting times have been introduced (9am to 9pm) and we have provided reclining chairs in side rooms to make it easier for partners to stay. Our lead midwives are going to visit other hospitals in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight to look at their visiting arrangements.
• Check-up choices
  Parents told us that they weren't always given a choice about where to have check-up appointments. We're developing community services to offer more choice in Southampton and across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. In May 2018, we introduced triage midwives, who are a first point of contact and offer women a choice of venue for antenatal care.
• Awareness of medical history
  Some mothers reported that they didn't feel their midwives were aware of their medical history. We're doing ongoing work to ensure continuity of care in postnatal treatment.
• Round-the-clock breastfeeding support
  Parents told us that it was harder to access breastfeeding support in the evenings, at night or during weekends. We've introduced more peer supporters to support breastfeeding mothers on our postnatal wards in the evenings and weekends. New parents can call any of our birth centres for support at any time, including nights and weekends, and get further support from the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) and the La Leche League.
• Consistent feeding advice
  Some parents felt that the advice they received on feeding their baby wasn't consistent. Our staff members all attend training on infant feeding to make sure they can give the best, current advice. As we treat all mothers and babies as individuals, advice can change from feed to feed and day to day.

National maternity survey 2021 results

The 2021 maternity survey reports on the experiences of women aged 16 or over who gave birth in an NHS hospital in England in February 2021. You can find out more about the survey on the CQC website.

The results allow maternity services to compare trends over time, helping to focus attention on areas of good performance and on those areas where it could be improved.

The survey reviews five areas of the maternity service including antenatal care, your labour and birth of your baby, care in hospital after birth, feeding your baby and care at home after the birth.

We are very pleased to say that our results show we have performed exceptionally well in the area of mental wellbeing for our service users. We have also been able to identify areas where improvements can be made.

You can see the reports below:

Friends and family test

The feedback we receive helps us to ensure that we provide the best quality care for all our patients. While you're in hospital with us, you'll be invited to complete a questionnaire which will give you the opportunity to have your say on the care you've received.

Maternity fun facts

Find out some facts about the babies born in our department recently:

In the news

Success for the Princess Anne Hospital in Newsweek's world ranking

The Princess Anne Hospital has been included in Newsweek's list of 129 top specialist care centres in the world. Find out more:

• Daily Echo: Princess Anne Hospital ranked among best for maternity care (2019)