Warnings from midwives at Darlington Memorial Hospital about the maternity ward being "unsafe" were ignored, a new report reveals.

A Care Quality Commission inspection downgraded two maternity wards in County Durham and Darlington's NHS Foundation Trust from "good" to "inadequate".

The report explained that staff regularly missed breaks, worked late, worked extra hours (paid and unpaid) and that midwife sickness levels were very high due to the increased pressure on staff because of shortages in staffing.

Inspectors were told that in the past 12 months midwives had told managers that they  believed the unit was "unsafe".

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Noel Scanlon, Director of Nursing at the County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust, responded to the report and described it as "very disappointing".

He said: "Clearly to be downgraded two levels is very significant. We do take it very seriously.

"It will have an impact on our reputation, the morale of our staff and most importantly on expectant mothers. Some people won’t get past one word of the report.

Read more: Darlington and Durham hospital maternity ward 'inadequate'

"The inspection took place at the end of March and the CQC identified some weaknesses before they left.

"We have been working very hard on an action plan since that time."

He explained that he believes in the next inspection, which will take place before December 7, that the maternity ward will be reinstated to a "good" rating.

Mr Scanlon described what had been done to address three areas that the report specifically highlighted.

He said: "There are three principal issues, two of them were simple to address in the short term.

"They identified that some of the equipment that they thought should be in place wasn’t in place.

"We have put in place some new diagnostic equipment very quickly.

"The second area was around the pregnancy area assessment unit about triage, assessment, and escalation of women in the early stages of labour.

"We were very keen to put in place dedicated telephone lines, we have been logging calls and ensuring we were using an evidence-based tool to make sure we were assessing women against a rigorous standard consistently over time.

"The third area is the biggest priority. There is clearly a national shortage of midwives, we are no different to anywhere else.

"We have been very successful with local recruitment recently; we have 30 appointments that will be starting or have already started.

"That will be the bulk of vacancies that we are currently carrying."

The director and the rest of the leadership at the trust say they are taking the report very seriously.

He added: "One thing I would reflect on though is where we have made changes we have sought to consult all of staff and move forward on the consensus.

"The inspection necessarily looked at the hospital service and of course, I wouldn’t dispute what’s been written but I would observe that it would be easy to draw a view from the comments of less than half of the staff.

When asked what he would say to families in Darlington Mr Scanlon said he would have no issue with his daughter coming to the hospital for maternity care.

He said: "We are very proud of the services that we offer within County Durham and Darlington.

"They should feel safe and confident that the service they receive will be of the highest standard.

"The inspection took place six months ago and identified some weaknesses which we have addressed.

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"If they do have concerns they should speak to their community midwife.

"My daughter is pregnant if she wanted to have her baby in County Durham or Darlington I would have no concerns about that whatsoever.

"I would say to anyone who is worried reading this report, don’t be."