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 40 new midwife roles and are now fully recruited
- 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
- Delivered 97% of the national Ockenden recommendations
- Co-produced improvements with MNVP, including overnight support for birth partners and a helpful postnatal discharge video
- Earned full NHS Resolution incentives in both 2023 and 2024 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.
Our maternity services have consistently stayed within the expected national range. In fact, thanks to targeted improvements, our rates are now significantly better than the national benchmark.
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.
National review into maternity and neonatal services
We are committed to doing everything we can to help in the effort to improve maternity care across the country and welcome the opportunity to take part in a national review.
How to share your feedback
A dedicated contact centre has been set up by the national team so women and families can share their experiences of maternity and neonatal care which will help inform the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation’s findings and recommendations. If you would like to discuss your questions or concerns with a member of the UHSussex maternity or neonatal team, please let us know and we can arrange this.
Taking part in maternity research
Research involving the birthing population is flourishing at all four hospital sites at UHSussex. Our aim is to offer maternity service users the opportunity to participate in cutting edge studies that could drive progress in effective care, treatment or medication management.
Read more about the research taking place within maternity