Chief Inspector of Hospitals asks people to tell him about the care provided by Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust and GP services in Cambridgeshire

The Care Quality Commission is inviting people in Cambridgeshire to tell its inspectors what they think of their health services.

Their views and experiences will help inspectors decide what to look at when they inspect Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust in September. At the same time the inspectors are also asking members of the public to tell them about the services provided by local GP services in Cambridgeshire. That information will be used to guide future inspections.

The trust is being inspected and given an overall rating under radical changes which have been introduced by the Care Quality Commission and it will be given an overall rating as a result of the inspection. The formal inspection of Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust will start on 16 September, 2014.

The Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, announced last year that he will lead significantly larger inspection teams than before, headed up by clinical and other experts including trained members of the public.

To ensure the views of patients of both the local hospital and GPs are properly heard, the inspectors will be holding a public listening event at 6.30pm on Tuesday, 16 September:

• Huntingdon Town Hall, Market Hill, Huntingdon, PE29 3PJ

People are being encouraged to attend the listening event to find out more about the inspection process, to tell the team about their experiences of care and to say where they would like to see improvements made in the future.

Sir Mike said:

"The new inspections are designed to provide people with a clear picture of the quality of the services in their local hospital, exposing poor or mediocre care as well as highlighting the many hospitals providing good and excellent care.

"We know there is too much variation in quality – these new in-depth inspections will allow us to get a much more detailed picture of care in hospitals than ever before.

"Of course we will be talking to doctors and nurses, hospital managers and patients at the trust. But it is vital that we also hear the views of the people who have received care at the trust, or anyone who wants to share information with us. This will help us plan our inspection, and so help us focus on the things that really matter to people who depend on this service.

“This is your opportunity to tell me and my team face to face what you think, and make a difference to the NHS services in the local area. If you are unable to come to the event we still want to hear from you by using the Share Your Experience form on our website or helpline 03000 616161. Everyone’s experiences of care are important to us so get in touch.”

Sir Mike's inspection team is expected to look in detail at eight key service areas: A&E; medical care (including frail elderly); surgery; intensive/critical care; maternity; paediatrics/children’s care; end of life care; and outpatients.

A full report of the inspectors’ findings will be published by the Care Quality Commission later in the year. The trust will be one of the first to be given one of the following ratings: Outstanding, Good, Requiring improvement, Inadequate.

The Chief Inspector of General Practice, Professor Steve Field, announced last year that CQC would be taking a new approach to its inspections of GPs’ services, with out of hours services a priority.

CQC have started inspecting the second wave of GP practices using the new approach to inspection. The 11 clinical commissioning groups (CCG) areas that have been targeted for inspection include Cambridgeshire.

The new inspection teams will be led by expert inspectors with clinical input from GPs and practice nurses. The teams will include an inspector, a GP, a nurse or a practice manager and a trainee GP. They may also include an expert by experience (someone who uses a GP practice or has a particular experience of care).

The inspectors will look at how well the service responds to patients’ needs and consider the quality of communication between GPs and out-of-hours care and other local services, including care homes and emergency services.

Full reports of the inspectors’ findings will be published by the Care Quality Commission later in the year.

ENDS

For media enquiries, contact regional communications officer, Helen Gildersleeve on 0191 233 3379. CQC’s press office can also be reached on 020 7448 9401 during office hours or out of hours on 07917 232 143.

For general enquiries, call 03000 616161.