Bradford Royal Infirmary’s maternity services have achieved a ‘Good’ rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an unannounced full inspection carried out in September 2025.
The CQC found the services were well-led, were responding to the needs of the communities they serve and demonstrated evidence of a commitment to continuous improvement. The report highlighted how people working in the services are working hard to learn from the experiences of families accessing maternity care.
This was the first full inspection of Bradford Royal Infirmary’s maternity services since 2019, when the service was rated as ‘Requires Improvement’. In 2024, a focused inspection in the safe and well-led domains were rated as ‘Good’ however the overall rating could not change as it was not a full inspection.
Professor Mel Pickup, Chief Executive for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“I would like to say a heartfelt thanks to our colleagues in maternity services for helping us continue to develop a culture of quality that is embedded in our work every day and reflects the Trust’s aim of delivering outstanding care for parents. I hope that this rating, alongside the ‘Outstanding’ rating for our neonatal services, provides further confidence in the care we provide to local families, communities and our wider partners.
“While our rating for maternity services is welcome news, this is not about standing still. There will always be areas we need to focus on to improve service users and carers’ experience of our services – including those experiences shared with the CQC – and we will work tirelessly to do this. Our participation in the national maternity and neonatal investigation will give us further opportunities to do so.”
The report has highlighted most mothers and babies received good care and had complimentary feedback to give on their birth experiences.
This included support provided in a timely manner and the use of an electronic interpreting tool available in different languages to ensure any information given to women and their families was accessible. Inspectors also recognised the focused efforts being made to improve outcomes for women, especially considering deprivation level and ethnic background which can often impact negatively on birthing experiences.