8 February 2011
The Care Quality Commission has lifted the final condition imposed on the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust after inspectors found the trust has made the necessary improvements to assess the training needs of staff.
In April 2010 the regulator registered the trust on condition it made improvements to three essential standards of care when it introduced a new registration system for all health and adult social care services. Two conditions were removed in October 2010.
Inspectors gathered information to support their decision during visits to three hospitals (Heartlands, Solihull and Good Hope Hospital) in December. These visits were carried out specifically to see if the trust had made the necessary improvements relating to the training needs of staff.
Inspectors spoke to patients and relatives in the Accident & Emergency department and on wards which provide care to older people.
Patients in A & E said they were pleased with the standards of service and that staff are always “helpful and polite”.
People staying on wards also commented on how quickly they had been assessed on arrival and improved standards of cleanliness.
Staff confirmed that they had contributed to appraisals at which their training needs had been assessed.
The report published today says the trust has:
- Given staff training in dementia care, safeguarding and infection control
- Launched a Faculty of Education one stop shop for staff; which has increased access and information and advice and guidance to support staff learning and career development
- Evidenced improvements to induction and ongoing training opportunities for all staff
- Provided staff with access to online training
- Given staff access to a range of in-house training that covers key skills to masters degree level courses.
Andrea Gordon CQC regional director for the East and West Midlands said:
”We are confident that trust has reviewed its approach to supporting staff by improving access to training and development opportunities.
“This is positive step which is already improving patient experiences and giving staff better access to support and training which helps them to improve their performance in their respective roles.
She continued: “The trust has assured us that they will continue to sustain and deliver training that meets the changing needs of staff across the trust.
”We would like to thank everyone who spoke to us to help us get a real understanding of how the trust has addressed our previous concerns.”
Ends
For more information contact Nicola Stewart on 0121 600 5344.
Notes to editors
About the CQC: Snippet for press releases
About the Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England.
We make sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and we encourage care services to improve.
We monitor, inspect and regulate services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety and we publish what we find to help people choose care.
Read the reports
Read the reports from our checks on standards at: