Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust improve their rating to Good after a CQC inspection

England’s chief inspector of hospitals has found improvements in patient services at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust following its latest unannounced inspection.

When the trust was last inspected in March 2016 it was rated Requires Improvement. At this inspection the trust’s overall rating has improved to Good, although it has been rated Requires Improvement for safe.

CQC inspected the trust during April 2018. As part of the inspection, CQC looked at urgent and emergency, critical care, maternity and children and young people’s services provided at Calderdale Royal Hospital and Huddersfield Royal Infirmary. CQC also inspected the community sexual health services and community inpatient services.

Inspectors found some areas of outstanding practice. In emergency services at Calderdale Royal Hospital the department had developed resources to help children feel more comfortable in their journey through the department. In critical care the trust had developed partnership working with improving access to psychological therapies for patients attending the follow up clinic. In maternity inspectors saw outstanding collaborative care packages put in place with the local hospice when babies were diagnosed with life limiting conditions.

However, there are areas where the trust must improve:

• At both hospitals the trust must ensure it has robust systems for checking equipment and identifying and disposing of expired items.
• At both hospitals the trust must ensure that systems and processes are in place and followed for the safe storage, security, recording and administration of medicines including controlled drugs.
• Within Community inpatient services the trust must ensure all incidents are identified, reported and investigated, in a timely way and that learning from incidents is shared, implemented, monitored and tested to embed lessons learned.
• The organisation must ensure staff have the necessary competencies to enable them to carry out the duties they are employed to perform.

You can see the latest ratings grids on pages 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 of the inspection report. Read the report in full.

CQC has also published the trust’s Use of Resources report, which is based on an assessment undertaken by NHS Improvement. The trust has been rated as Requires Improvement for using its resources productively.

The combined rating for the trust, taking into account CQC’s inspection for the quality of services and NHSI’s assessment of Use of Resources, is Requires Improvement.

Professor Ted Baker, CQC, Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said:

“This is an encouraging report for Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust. There has been a marked improvement since our last inspection in 2016 and I congratulate all concerned.

“At trust level the rating for well-led improved from Requires Improvement to Good. Inspectors could see that there was an open culture, and most staff felt supported by their line managers. At both Huddersfield and Calderdale overall ratings had improved.

“The overall rating for community health services has gone down to Requires Improvement. This was partly due to an inadequate rating in respect of a pilot ward set up at Calderdale Royal Hospital to support older people ready for discharge. Although this was popular with patients and their families the inspectors feltthere were not enough suitably skilled, qualified and experienced staff available.

“In the meantime we will continue to monitor these services and return at some time in the future to check on progress.”

Ends

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