Board of directors' meeting - 9 September 2026

Question one:

The Trust has acknowledged concerns raised by bereaved parents regarding the location and suitability of bereavement facilities at the Rosie, alongside gaps in support. There is currently limited specialist mental health support for bereaved parents, no dedicated specialist NICU bereavement nurse, and no specialist early pregnancy loss nurse role. Can the Board confirm what specific improvements will be made across the bereavement pathway, including facilities, mental health support and specialist staffing and what clear, measurable timescales and accountability will be put in place to ensure bereaved families receive safe, compassionate and specialist care?

Response from the Chief Nurse and Chief Medical Officer:

On behalf of Cambridge University Hospitals, we want to firstly express our deepest sympathies to every family who has experienced pregnancy or baby loss and our thanks to Sands for the work they do in supporting these families.

We have recently made some improvements to the bereavement facilities for families, specifically around the environment and the privacy of these spaces thanks to fundings from the Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust, but acknowledge there is much more we need to do to improve the care that bereaved families receive.

To properly assess the changes we need to make, we are undertaking a review of our bereavement services, led by our new Director of Midwifery, to ensure they are aligned with national standards, guidance and best practice.

As part of this work, we are planning an event in partnership with Sands, bringing together families, clinicians and other stakeholders to ensure bereaved families' voices directly shape any changes we make.

Once these are completed, we will develop an improvement plan and continue to work with Sands to ensure they are sighted and involved in the delivery of these changes.

Thank you again for raising these important issues and for your continued engagement with our maternity and neonatal services. We are committed

to ensuring that the experiences of bereaved families lead to real and lasting improvements at The Rosie.

Question two:

The forthcoming Health Bill, due to become law in April next year, would abolish the requirement for Foundation Trusts to have public governors – including the legal requirement to have staff, patients and other stakeholders as members. Unless robust alternatives are planned such a move would substantially reduce public scrutiny of hospital trusts.

What are the views of the CUH Board about this considerable loss of oversight?

Response from the Chief Governance and Performance Officer:

The Board recognises that the proposed abolition of Foundation Trust membership and governor arrangements would represent a significant change to the current framework of public accountability within the NHS.

The Trust values the role that members and governors play in providing insight, challenge and a clear link between the organisation and the communities it serves. Patient and public engagement is central to both the delivery of services and the achievement of the Trust's strategic objectives. The Trust is conscious that currently there are no plans to legislate for an alternative patient and public voice mechanism to replace either the Council of Governors or the membership model. It will therefore be important to consider how the Trust continues to ensure effective engagement should the proposed legislation be enacted.

The Board intends to work closely with the Council of Governors as the legislative proposals develop. A discussion is planned this autumn to consider how meaningful patient and public voice can continue to influence the Trust's decision-making and governance arrangements in the future. This will include exploring with governors what role they may wish to play in any new non-statutory structures that the Trust chooses to establish.

Until the final legislation is published, it is not possible to determine the precise impact on local accountability arrangements. However, the Board is clear that maintaining strong public engagement and effective mechanisms for patient and public involvement will remain important principles for the Trust.

Question three:

In this summer’s extreme heat many staff and their patients suffered severely and over long periods. Everything indicates that next summer’s conditions will be worse.

• In what patient and staff areas of the hospital is air-conditioning already installed?
• What respite was offered this year to staff who became overcome by heat?
• How do you ensure that long hours in extreme heat do not affect clinical judgement or actions?
• What provision is currently being put in place to improve the hospital environment for 2027 and beyond?

Response from the Chief Digital and Infrastructure Officer:

In what patient and staff areas of the hospital is air-conditioning already installed?

Our CUH estate was not originally designed with air-conditioning included and relies heavily on natural ventilation, with the exception of theatres and intensive/critical care areas. Over the years, many areas have had air conditioning retro-fitted and any new wards such as EAU, Perinatal, N-Wards, K-Wards & U-Block have cooling as well as our Modular Infusion Unit and both the new Cancer and Children’s Hospitals will be fully air conditioned. Over the last two years we have installed air conditioning to the majority of the Rosie Maternity Hospital, part of ward A3 and also Clinic 2a as well as other smaller local units. We have over 2000 individual air conditioning units on the site and in addition have several central chiller systems which serve another circa 1500 chilled cooling units, with our ventilation plant serving Theatres, ICU, Perinatal and some wards.

What respite was offered this year to staff who became overcome by heat?

During this year's heatwaves we provided supplemental support, including:

• Centrally distributed free bottled water for all staff
• Surgical scrubs for clinical staff to wear instead of existing heavier/thicker uniforms
• Flexible working from home for staff not required onsite
• Site patrols added to visually assess windows, blinds and associated checks were done to limit heat penetration where possible
• 700 additional portable fans in addition to the existing 5,500 already in use
• We also maintain a fleet of portable cooling units for use during periods of extreme heat. An additional 209 units were deployed across clinical and non-clinical areas, prioritised according to patient needs, infection prevention requirements and estate suitability.

How do you ensure that long hours in extreme heat do not affect clinical judgement or actions?

Our Trust's Adverse Weather policy sets out hot weather action cards which are repeatedly run via our internal communication outlets and a variety of other engagement channels, which reminds our staff of the care and support mechanisms available during adverse weather.

What provision is currently being put in place to improve the hospital environment for 2027 and beyond?

We continue to assess areas for retro-fitting air conditioning.

• Overnight cooling using ventilation has been deployed in C&D, F&G and ATC Wards and will be extended across the Trust
• The use of alternative window shielding and solar reflective blinds will be explored for use in south facing areas
• Roofing replacement is in progress in many areas which includes additional insulation to reduce solar heat gain in the summer
• Theatre environmental controls negatively impacted by high humidity required interim solutions. This learning will be converted into permanent solutions and will also inform future projects including our new Cancer and Children’s Hospital projects