Chief Inspector of Hospitals asks people to tell him about the care provided by Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

England's Chief Inspector of Hospitals is inviting members of the public to tell his inspection panel what they think of the services provided by Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust including Warrington Hospital, Halton General Hospital, Cheshire and Merseyside Treatment Centre and the services the trust provides at Bath Street Clinic in Warrington.

Their views and experiences will help inspectors decide what to look at when they inspect the services provided by the trust in January.

All NHS Trusts are due to be inspected under the new methodology announced last year. The trust will be inspected and given an overall rating under radical changes which have been introduced by the Care Quality Commission. The formal inspection of the trust will start on Tuesday 27 January 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 holding two listening events where the community can come and tell them about the care they have received:

• Monday 26 January at 2.00pm – Holiday Inn Runcorn, Wood Lane, Beechwood, Warrington, Cheshire WA7 3HA
• Monday 26 January at 6.30pm – The Gateway, 85-101 Sankey Street, Warrington, Cheshire, WA1 1SR

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 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 in the hospital. But it is vital that we also hear the views of the people who have had care at any of the hospitals run by the trust, or anyone else 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 what you think, and make a difference to NHS services in the local area.”

Sir Mike's inspection team is expected to look in detail at eight key service areas: A&E; medical care 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, or Inadequate.

Ends

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For general enquiries, call 03000 61 61 61.