Safe, high-quality care: Maternity services at UHSussex

At University Hospitals Sussex, the safety of women and babies is our absolute priority, and we remain committed to learning and improving every day.

That means listening to, and working with families, from across Sussex, as well as our colleagues in each of our maternity units.  

Thanks to these efforts, our service is fully staffed, and national quality and safety data shows our teams provide some of the safest maternity care in the country. Being part of the Maternity Safety Support Programme is another fundamental part of this work. Together, we’ve delivered a Maternity Improvement Plan focused on key areas like:

• Recruiting and retaining skilled staff
• Meeting national safety recommendations (Ockenden and East Kent)
• Supporting safer pregnancies through the Saving Babies’ Lives care bundle
• Screening and early detection
• Promoting infant feeding support
• Safe and transparent governance
• Creating welcoming, well-equipped environments
• Strong leadership and a positive team culture
• Ongoing education and training
• We’re also proud to work in partnership with the Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP), ensuring that the voices of women, birthing people, and families shape the care we provide.

What we’ve achieved

Thanks to this focused work, we’ve made real progress:

• Invested in new midwives roles
• Completed a full review of our clinical model and recruited new staff
• Increased leadership roles in both medical and midwifery teams
• Approved a new maternity governance framework
• Co-produced improvements with MNVP, including overnight support for birth partners and a helpful postnatal discharge video
• Earned full NHS Resolution incentives for 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 for meeting safety and quality standards.

View our maternity service improvements as a Heyzine flipbook.

Safer outcomes for babies

We closely monitor outcomes like perinatal mortality — which means how often babies are either stillborn or pass away within the first month (28 days) of life. This is measured per 1,000 births after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

When we compare our results to similar hospitals with specialist newborn care, we consistently see fewer losses — often more than 15% lower. Even after adjusting for the unique health needs of our local community, our outcomes remain just as good or better than those of other services.

We know that behind every number is a family, and we’re committed to providing safe, respectful, and compassionate care for every birth.

If you’d like to learn more or share your experience, please contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service or feedback using the NHS Friends and Family Test. You can also follow UHSussex Maternity on Instagram and Facebook.

Taking part in maternity research