The upgrade for the trust, which is part of the Amos review, was inspected in February 2025.

Amanda Williams, CQC deputy director of hospitals, secondary and specialist care in Sussex, said: 'When we inspected Worthing Hospital's maternity services, we saw staff working hard to support women throughout their pregnancy journey.'

The CQC praised leaders' work to create a more positive culture where staff feel confident to speak up and share ideas.

In addition, the regulator noted the trust had worked closely with the local Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership to make sure women's voices shaped how care was delivered.

However, some areas for improvement were noted, including more work required to improve policies and the trust's audit programme.

In addition, only one dedicated obstetric theatre was provided for planned and emergency caesarean sections where national guidance requires two.

Dr Tim Taylor, chief of service for the women and children's division at the trust, said: ‘Our teams work extremely hard to give people safe, compassionate care – I hope that they welcome this new rating as a recognition of the huge amount of the commitment and compassion they offer every day. And I hope that local families feel encouraged that the service they rely on is working to such a high level. 

‘We never lose sight of the utter devastation that families face if a baby is lost, and so the work to improve is never over – we must keep trying to be better.   

‘We are committed to building on the progress made at Worthing, and to listening to families, including through our work with the Sussex National Maternity Voices Partnership. We need to ensure future improvements are shaped around the needs of the people who use our services.'