INSPECTORS have raised serious concerns related to “culture, oversight of patient safety and staff wellbeing” at one of Scotland’s largest maternity units.

Health Improvement Scotland (HIS) conducted an unannounced inspection of maternity services at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) in June, where staff told them of their “overwhelming feeling of helplessness, frustration and worry for not only patient, but staff safety.”

Inspectors found widespread frustration at staffing levels, with workers fearing it “left areas short-staffed and staff unsupported” despite raising concerns on “multiple occasions with managers,” as well as witnessing a 29-hour delay in the induction of labour for one expectant mother due to “lack of staff availability.”

The report said: “The majority of staff we spoke with described a negative culture, with lack of visible senior management, and expressed concern regarding patient and staff safety within maternity services.

“Many staff we spoke with were very emotional and tearful and described being constantly understaffed and feeling undervalued.”

HIS chief inspector Donna Maclean said the inspection showed “staff working hard to provide compassionate and responsive care in very challenging circumstances.”

She added: “Our inspection has highlighted gaps in incident reporting and a reluctance to submit incident reports, with staff describing a culture of mistrust. 

“These are concerning issues that may have significant impact on the learning from adverse events in the system and reduce opportunities to improve safety.”

Responding, NHS Lothian chief executive Professor Caroline Hiscox said: “I apologise to women, people who use the service, and their families and can reassure them that these issues are being taken extremely seriously.”

She said that “improvements have already been made,” with “more than 70 additional midwives” to be recruited by the end of the year.

Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “The safety and wellbeing of mothers, babies and staff is our absolute priority. 

“We will not tolerate these issues in our NHS services, and they must be addressed immediately.

“We are taking these concerns extremely seriously and I expect NHS Lothian to act immediately to implement all 26 requirements from HIS.”