England's Chief Inspector of Hospitals is inviting members of the public to tell his inspection panel what they think of their local health services.
Their views and experiences will help inspectors decide what to look at when they inspect the trust. 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 The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust will start on Wednesday, 7 October 2015.
The Chief Inspector, 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 and the local community are properly heard, the inspectors will be at a listening event at the following venue:
- Wednesday 30 September, Classic British – Wynnstay Hotel Church Street, Oswestry, Shropshire SY11 2SZ 6:00pm
- Monday 5 October, Central Shrewsbury Baptist Church, Claremont Street, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 1QG, 6:00pm
People are being encouraged to attend the listening events to tell the team about their experiences of care from the past year and to say where they would like to see improvements made in the future as well as find out more about the inspection.
Sir Mike said: "The 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 the team what you think, and make a difference to the NHS services in the local area.”
Sir Mike's inspection team is expected to look in detail at the key services provided by this specialist orthopaedic hospital; including orthopaedic surgery, musculoskeletal medicine, spinal injuries and orthotic research together with their associated outpatient and diagnostic imaging services.
A full report of the inspectors’ findings from the trust inspection will be published by the Care Quality Commission. The trust will be one of the first to be given one of the following ratings: Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement, Inadequate.
Ends
For further information, please contact Jade Quittenton, Regional Engagement Officer on 0191 2333349 Journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact the team here. Please note: the press office is unable to advise members of the public on health or social care matters.
For general enquiries, please call 03000 61 61 61.
More details about the listening events can be found at:
Find out more
Read reports from previous checks on The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Come to our listening event: