Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust’s (HDFT) maternity service has been rated 'good overall' following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in July 2025.
The ‘good overall’ rating marks an improvement from the Trust’s previous inspection in November 2022, when the service was rated ‘requires improvement’ despite many positive findings.
The CQC assessed the service against 34 quality statements within its Single Assessment Framework and awarded good ratings in all five key areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well‑Led.
The report highlights several areas of good practice, including:
- Women they spoke to reported that they felt listened to, were not pressured, and were encouraged to participate in their birth plans so that they were tailored to meet their specific needs.
- The service had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty.
- An increase in staff satisfaction, with 85% of staff saying they would recommend HDFT as a place to work – compared to 56% last year.
- There were specialist midwives to provide good support across the service.
- Safety events were investigated thoroughly, and lessons were learnt, and actions and learning shared with staff to prevent them from happening again.
- Since the last assessment, the service has improved staff appraisal rates and staff training to help keep women safe.
Since the July 2025 inspection, the Trust has taken several steps to address the CQC’s recommendations and build on the strengths identified, including:
- Increasing staffing and oversight of the Maternity Assessment Centre.
- Moving to a new electronic system for recording patient observations (Modified Early Obstetric Warning Score (MEOWS) and Newborn Early Warning Track and Trigger (NEWTT2) now captured on Nervecentre (Electronic Patient Record System).
- New furniture and equipment ordered to replace worn items.
The report is the latest positive news for HDFT’s Maternity Unit, which last year retained its UNICEF Baby Friendly Gold Accreditation along with the neonatal unit -making it the only NHS Trust in England to achieve gold status across both services.
Jonathan Coulter, Chief Executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said:
"I am delighted that our maternity service has achieved a good overall rating.
“The report recognises the many strengths within our maternity service and the outcome reflects the strong learning culture across HDFT.
"The way we develop skills, share knowledge, challenge ourselves and make continuous improvements for the benefit of patients is invaluable.
“Our maternity team works incredibly hard to provide safe, professional care for those who access these services and I am pleased that this has been recognised by the CQC in their report.
“We know that there are things we can do better, and the report helpfully identifies some areas for improvement.
"These are welcome as it will help us to strengthen our service further, ensure we continue to deliver safe, effective and compassionate care, and provide the best possible experience for families across our region.”
Breeda Columb, Executive Director of Nursing, Midwifery and AHPs, said:
"I am extremely proud of the professionalism and dedication shown by our maternity staff.
“I would like to thank everyone in our maternity team for the care they provide every day. They truly embody our values of kindness, integrity, teamwork and equality, and their dedication is what makes our maternity unit a service of which we can all be proud.
“We know we still have improvements to make, but the team is working hard to provide all women, birthing people and their families with personalised care, whilst striving to further improve on our current service.”
Ruth Charlton, Representative of the Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP), said:
"We were pleased to be part of the recent CQC review of HDFT’s maternity services. We were able to share examples of the outstanding care we see, as well as areas where further improvements can be made.
“Our role is to make sure the voices of women, birthing people, and families are heard and help shape the care they receive. This report highlights the strong partnership between the MNVP and HDFT, a collaboration built on openness, respect, and shared commitment to on‑going improvement.
“We look forward to continuing to support, challenge and positively influence maternity and neonatal care at HDFT. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our work and shared your experiences with us."
The report will be published on CQC’s website in the coming days.
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