Media release: Maternity Inspection report Borders General Hospital, NHS Borders
Healthcare Improvement Scotland today (Thursday 25 June) published a report relating to a Maternity Services Safe Delivery of Care inspection visit to Borders General Hospital, NHS Borders. We carried out the unannounced inspection of maternity services at the hospital on 16-17 March 2026.
Speaking of the report, Donna Maclean, Chief Inspector, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, said:
“During our inspection we observed calm, person-centred care and staff working together to maintain good communication and provide compassionate, responsive and respectful care.
“The maternity unit was calm, tidy, clean and maintained to a high standard. Women we spoke with were complimentary of the care received and would recommend maternity services within Borders General Hospital to family and friends.
“A positive, supportive working culture was evident with staff describing NHS Borders as a good place to work and feeling confident to escalate concerns.
“Senior midwifery and obstetric staff were visible within the service and engaging with the wider team and staff said they have sufficient time within their working hours for their learning and development.”
Chief Inspector, Healthcare Improvement Scotland
During the inspection some areas of improvement were identified including improved assurance of timely access to unscheduled care, as well as improvements to ensure timescales of adverse events are achieved.
Other areas for improvement include assurance of fire safety requirements, ongoing improvement to the hospital environment, safe storage and management of medicines and access to interpretation services.
Speaking of our expansion of Safe Delivery of Care inspections into maternity services, Eddie Docherty, Director of Quality Assurance and Regulation, said:
“In response to Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s Neonatal Mortality Review in 2024, we made a commitment to expanding our Safe Delivery of Care inspection approach to include inpatient maternity services. The maternity inspections will provide women, and families with an assessment of the quality of care provided by their local maternity service and an independent review of any required improvements.
“The Healthcare Improvement Scotland Maternity Care Standards, published on 23 March 2026, set out national expectations for the delivery of safe, effective and person‑centred maternity care across all settings, including midwifery units, community and home settings, hospitals, primary care and prisons. All health boards have been formally advised that the Maternity Care Standards will be incorporated into maternity inspections from Monday, 21 September 2026 onwards.”
Director of Quality Assurance and Regulation, Healthcare Improvement Scotland
The maternity services inspection at Borders General Hospital resulted in 10 areas of good practice, one recommendation and 10 requirements.
An improvement action plan has been developed by NHS Borders to meet the requirements for maternity services.
The full Borders General Hospital maternity inspection report is available to view at:
Ends
Notes to editor
This report is part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s programme of inspections and reviews.
Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s statutory role is to help improve the quality of health and care, provide information to the public about the quality of health and care services, monitor public involvement, and to evaluate and provide advice on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of medicines and health technologies.