Source · CQC inspection

St Austell Hospital - Penrice Birthing Unit

Provider Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust Type NHS Healthcare Organisation Region South West Last inspected 27 Feb 2023

Overall rating: Requires Improvement  View full CQC report

Domain ratings

Five CQC key questions
Safe
Requires Improvement
Effective
Requires Improvement
Caring
Good
Responsive
Good
Well-led
Good

Earlier inspection findings

pre-2024 framework · 2 must-do 7 should-do

Must-do actions (2)

Legal requirements based on regulation breaches identified during inspection.

Must-do action 1 of 2
Must do
Safe
The service must ensure that there is a full risk assessment for the level of emergency equipment at Penrice birthing unit. Regulation 12(2)(a)(b)
Regulation: Regulation 12(2)(a)(b)
⚠ Staff didn’t have access to adult resuscitation equipment at Penrice birthing unit. Following the inspection the trust told us they planned to fully risk assess the lack of access to a defibrillator at the Penrice birthing unit site.
Must-do action 2 of 2
Must do
Safe
The service must ensure staff complete daily checks on emergency equipment. Regulation 12(2)(e)
Regulation: Regulation 12(2)(e)
⚠ Staff carried out daily safety checks of specialist equipment most of the time. However, there were four gaps in daily checks in October 2022, one gap in September 2022 and one gap in August 2022.

Should-do actions (7)

Recommended improvements to enhance service quality.

Should-do action 1 of 7
Should do
Safe
The service should ensure staff complete regular birth pool evacuation training and baby abduction drills at Penrice Birthing Centre.
Should-do action 2 of 7
Should do
Safe
The service should ensure there is clear documentation of how women and birthing people meet the criteria for using the free-standing midwifery-led units for care in labour.
Should-do action 3 of 7
Should do
Safe
The service should ensure compliance with use of the situation, background, assessment, recommendation (SBAR) tool improves.
Should-do action 4 of 7
Should do
Safe
The service should ensure staff sign and date all records.
Should-do action 5 of 7
Should do
Safe
The service should ensure that there are effective processes for learning from incidents at birth centres.
Should-do action 6 of 7
Should do
Well-led
The service should ensure all staff receive a yearly appraisal.
Should-do action 7 of 7
Should do
Well-led
The service should consider improving how information is displayed on how to give feedback and make a complaint about the service.

Location details

CQC ID: REF81
Local authority: Cornwall
Region: South West

Inspection report

Type: Location
Date: 27 February 2023
Rating: Requires Improvement
Actions: 2 must-do 7 should-do
AI-extracted 3 Jun 2026