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Dr Hilary Jones cuts the ribbon to mark the opening of the newly-refurbished maternity unit, in the Sherborne building at Basingstoke hospital, in March 2006

NEW mums at Basingstoke hospital have reported a high level of cleanliness and good postnatal care.

More than 160 of them took part in England's biggest survey on maternity services and their views make interesting reading.

The Healthcare Commission survey showed the hospital achieved significantly higher results than the average ratings for England in areas including how clean the wards were.

Sixty eight per cent of Basingstoke hospital mums said wards were "very clean", compared with an average in England of 46 per cent.

Only two per cent of women said Basingstoke's wards were "not very clean" or "not at all clean", compared with a national average of eight per cent.

The maternity unit's toilets and bathrooms also scored well, with 52 per cent saying they were "very clean", contrasting with the national average of 36 per cent.

Mothers who had their babies at Basingstoke hospital in January and February were asked to complete the 72-question survey about all aspects of care.

Postnatal care at the hospital also rated well, with 93 per cent of those interviewed saying they had a postnatal check-up four to six weeks after the birth, compared with 88 per cent nationally.

Other areas where the trust scored highly were seeing the same midwife every time for antenatal check-up and being given a choice about having a scan.

The survey also showed that 75 per cent of women said they were never left alone either during, or shortly after, the birth.

However, 15 per cent said they were left during the labour, and six per cent said they were left shortly after the birth. Five per cent of women were left alone both during and shortly after the birth.

An area where the trust scored below the national average with mums was whether their midwife discussed feeding their baby with them during the pregnancy. Some 64 per cent of mums said they did, but the average for England was 78 per cent.

Other areas which could be improved include giving mums the choice of whether to have their antenatal check-ups and postnatal care advice at home.

Overall, 46 per cent of mums said the care they received during their labour and birth was excellent, while 28 per cent said it was very good and 15 per cent said it was good. Only eight per cent said it was "fair" and two per cent considered it to be "poor". Two people did not respond to the question.

Claire Iffland, consultant obstetrician and the divisional director of the maternal and child health division, said: "We really appreciate that so many of our patients took the time to complete this survey, with a response rate of nearly 64 per cent, which is well above the national average of 56 per cent.

"This information gives us an opportunity to address areas that are particularly important to our patients and their families.

"I have passed on the praise received for the units' cleanliness to the staff concerned."

2:43pm Monday 3rd December 2007

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