England's Chief Inspector of Hospitals has found improvements are needed York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust following an inspection by the CQC.
A team of inspectors visited York, Scarborough, and Bridlington Hospitals to check on the quality of four of its core services, in September and October 2017. CQC also looked specifically at management and leadership to answer the key question: Is the trust well led?
As a result of this inspection, the trust’s overall rating remains as Requires Improvement. In the key question of whether the trust is providing care that is responsive, the trust’s rating has improved from Requires Improvement to Good. Safe and well-led remain as Requires Improvement, and effective, and caring remain rated as Good.
Ellen Armistead, Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals said:
“Although inspectors found improvement across some services provided at York Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the trust still remains rated as Requires Improvement overall.
“Services at The York Hospital were the most improved at this inspection, and this sees their rating move from Requires Improvement to Good. We found a hospital that was much more responsive to the needs of people using their services, and one that was being better led since our previous inspection.
“It is however disappointing that there hasn’t been more widespread progress made in the areas where we told the trust they must improve at their comprehensive inspection in 2015.
“The trust are however looking to the future, and have implemented new ways of working at The York Hospital and Scarborough Hospital. The new models in critical care and urgent and emergency services, have been implemented to alleviate some of the recruitment issues as well as increased demand.
“The trust board knows what it must do to ensure improvements are made. We will continue to monitor the service and re-inspect to check on their progress.”
Inspectors found seven breaches of regulation at this inspection, some of the areas where the trust must improve are:
- At Scarborough Hospital the trust must ensure that clinical records are regularly checked to ensure they contain essential patient information.
- In the emergency department at York Hospital, the trust must ensure that children are treated in an appropriate place as there is no dedicated children’s treatment area.
- In medical care at Scarborough and Bridlington Hospitals, the trust must ensure that enough suitably qualified staff are deployed to meet the needs of patients.
- Across the trust, staff must be supported to maintain and develop their professional skills.
Inspectors did also find several areas of outstanding practice:
- The emergency department was working to improve patients’ experience and reduce the pressure on the department by creating care plans staff could refer to for patients who frequently attended.
- In critical care at York Hospital, inspectors saw several examples of staff ‘going the extra mile’ when providing care to patients and their relatives.
- The trust’s mobile chemotherapy unit was commissioned to provide care and treatment for patients closer to their homes.
Read the inspection report for full details of the ratings, including a ratings grid.
ENDS
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The trust board knows what it must do to ensure improvements are made. We will continue to monitor the service and re-inspect to check on their progress.
Ellen Armistead, Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals