MERSEYSIDE’S maternity services are outperforming others across the UK according to a national review.

A study for the Healthcare Commission (HCC) published today paints a gloomy national picture of one bed being used for more than one birth in each 24-hour period.

But results of the nationwide sur- vey show Merseyside’s maternity care was among the best in the country.

In a regional breakdown of the responses, Liverpool Women's Hospital, Wirral’s Arrowe Park Hospital and Ormskirk & District General Hospital were given “best performing” ratings.

Wirral University Teaching Hosp- ital NHS Foundation Trust was prais- ed for its cleanliness, safety and choice of delivery, such as home and water births.

Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust, in a recent review, was also praised for staffing levels and bed utilisation.

The maternity unit at Ormskirk & District General Hospital, which opened in 2004, has a mixture of en-suite rooms and other rooms that share a bathroom between two or three beds.

Liverpool Women’s Hospital has also been praised nationally for the level of service it provides.

Liverpool Primary Care Trust is investing an extra £600,000 in services to the Women’s Hospital which will improve access to antenatal care, offer greater patient choice and improve safety in childbirth.

Around 17 extra staff will be employed and the money will help fund additional help for patients with mental health problems.

It will also ensure the Enhanced Midwifery Team will be able to go into sections of the community needing extra help. In compiling its report, the Commission drew together information from all NHS maternity units in England and conducted surveys of some 5,000 maternity staff and more than 26,000 mothers.

The survey was the largest ever carried out, making the experience of women central to the assessment.

In some hospitals the report said there are maternity units without enough beds, showers and toilets, where women have to share showers and baths. The study also found some hospitals have staffing levels “well below” average.

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