The Care Quality Commission has rated the West Suffolk Hospital NHS Foundation Trust as ârequires improvementâ following itâs latest inspection.
The rating comes on the back of recent criticism that the Hospital has faced following mistakes made in patients care. The government has now ordered an inquiry over trust’s handling of the issue.
The recent report released today has rated 42 areas of the trust as âgoodâ or âoutstandingâ, 11 as ârequires improvementâ, and one as âinadequateâ.
Speaking to RWSfm Chief executive of the Trust Dr Stephen Dunn apologies for the mistakes but has committed to improving the required areas.
Chief executive Dr Stephen Dunn said: âWe are clearly disappointed, as this is not the standard that our patients and community deserve.
âWe must continue to quickly and effectively fix the issues raised in this report. Weâve addressed the immediate safety concerns and the Trust has taken action – including the introduction of nationally recognised monitoring for women and their babies. Weâve listened to what the CQC has said and getting things right for our patients is our top priority.â
The CQC rated the Trust overall as âgoodâ for being effective and caring, and ârequires improvementâ for being responsive, well-led, and safe. Of the Trustâs individual service ratings, 42 are rated âgoodâ or âoutstandingâ, 11 are rated as ârequires improvementâ, and one is rated as âinadequateâ.
The CQC inspectors found that Trust staff across the board: âtreated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditionsâ, and that they âgave patients and those close to them help, emotional support and advice when they needed it to minimise their distress.â
Steve added: âWhile we acknowledge and accept the areas of concern this report highlights, the CQC has rated many of the Trustâs services as good or outstanding and found that NHS teams across the board treated patients with compassion and respect, and weâre pleased our hardworking staff have been recognised.â
However, the report also signals areas where improvement is needed, including some areas not fully managing infection risks, medicines management or record keeping well enough, and staff not always feeling able to raise concerns.
Trust chair Sheila Childerhouse said: âAlthough inspectors reflected that we âpromoted an open cultureâ and had âvisible and approachableâ leaders, it is clear that in some areas our staff are not feeling as supported as they should be. We appreciate and value our staff and know their knowledge and expertise will be at the heart of addressing some of the problems the CQC has identified. We will be reviewing our culture and openness to make sure there is an environment where everyone â including our patients, our staff and our commissioners â has an opportunity to contribute and play a full part in our improvement.
âI am still immensely proud of the work our staff do, every day, to care for people in their time of need. We will make the improvements required.â
Community services â which were inspected for the first time as part of the Trust â were rated as good overall, and with inspectors highlighting areas of âoutstanding practiceâ in health services for children and young people.
The CQC made seven visits across September and October 2019, spoke to 70 patients and 237 staff, and reviewed 135 patient records.
The CQC sought action on things the Trust must do in 32 areas. The Trust is developing a robust improvement plan, and progress on this will be formally monitored at the Trust Board and reported back to the CQC.
The full report of the CQCâs findings will be published publicly on the CQCâs website today (30 January, 2020): https://www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RGR