North Middlesex Hospital's maternity service has been rated as 'Requires Improvement' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), a significant step up from its previous 'Inadequate' rating.
During a meeting of the Healthy and Safe Communities Scrutiny Panel on Wednesday, 18 March 2026, Manjit Roseghini, Director of Midwifery and Gynaecology Nursing at North Middlesex University Hospital, presented an update on the service's progress following critical inspections in 2023 and 2025. The service entered the national Maternity Safety Support Programme in February 2024.
Following a CQC inspection in January 2025, the rating improved to 'Requires Improvement', with the Safety and Well-led domains receiving this judgement. This reflects significant progress and an improving trajectory for the service. The Trust responded to three regulatory breaches identified by the CQC – safe care and treatment (Regulation 12), governance (Regulation 17), and staffing and mandatory training (Regulation 18) – with a detailed action plan submitted in February 2025. All actions from both the 2023 and 2025 inspection plans have now been completed, with ongoing monitoring in place to ensure sustainability. The report highlighted that the Trust has achieved full compliance for CNST Safety Action 8 this year.
Significant improvements have been made in key areas. Triage processes and maternity red flag monitoring have been strengthened. The service has also enhanced the management of equipment and the environment, improved incident governance and Duty of Candour processes, and seen substantial increases in compliance with mandatory training. The implementation of the EPOD system for triage is now enabling women to be assessed within 15 minutes.
The new electronic patient record system, BadgerNet, implemented in September 2025, is expected to significantly improve clinical safety, data visibility, and cross-site information sharing. This system is also anticipated to substantially reduce documentation issues, which were partly related to the previous use of paper records, thereby mitigating the risk of inconsistent or incomplete documentation.
Culturally, the service has seen improvements through targeted initiatives such as civility surveys, wellbeing events, and psychological safety measures designed to foster a respectful environment. Safety enhancements include the introduction of a bespoke Labour Ward Coordinators course aligned with national recommendations, robust risk assessment in triage supported by dedicated training and continuous monitoring, and the implementation of the Birthrate+ Acuity tool for real-time staffing oversight. Governance and safety have been further strengthened through formalised escalation policies, daily safety huddles, and quarterly reporting to senior leadership.
Despite the completed action plans and the improved CQC rating, ongoing priorities include the further development of bereavement facilities, continued work to embed cultural and safety improvements, ensuring governance consistency, and sustaining medical staffing compliance. These are areas of focus to maintain the positive trajectory of the service.
Members of the panel sought clarification on various aspects, including the meaning of induction of labour,
the management of equipment under COSHH requirements, and external reporting under good governance. Officers explained that the new electronic patient record system is expected to reduce documentation issues, and that improvements in processes and alignment with national guidance are addressing governance concerns.
Recent positive progress highlighted included improvements in triage safety, forthcoming capital works to enhance facilities, and the successful implementation of the new electronic patient record system. The panel expressed appreciation for the hard work undertaken by staff at North Middlesex Hospital throughout the improvement journey.
For more details on the progress and the CQC's findings, refer to the NMUH Maternity Update 18th March 2026. Further information on the scrutiny panel's agenda can be found in the Agenda frontsheet 18th March 2026.
