CQC finds improvement at South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust

England's Chief Inspector of Hospitals has found improvements at South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust following an inspection by the CQC.

A team of inspectors visited South Tyneside District Hospital to check on the quality of five of its core services between October and December 2017. CQC also looked specifically at management and leadership to answer the key question: Is the trust well led?

The CQC found improvement in the responsiveness of services being provided by the trust since a comprehensive inspection that was undertaken in 2015. However, there is work to do in order improve services, particularly their safety, for the people that are using them.

As a result of this inspection, the trust’s overall responsiveness rating has improved from Requires Improvement to Good. In the key questions of whether the trust is providing care that is safe, effective and well-led, the trust’s ratings remain as Requires Improvement, and caring remains rated as Outstanding.

The trust’s rating for medical care has also improved from Requires Improvement to Good. Mental health services were also rated for the first time at this inspection, they are rated Good overall.

The trust’s overall rating remains as Requires Improvement.

Ellen Armistead, Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals said:

“Inspectors found improvements in the responsiveness of services provided at South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust on their return, which is good news for the people using them.

“Since our previous inspection South Tyneside formed a partnership with a neighbouring NHS trust and established the South Tyneside and Sunderland Healthcare Group. This means they now have a single management team across both trusts, and the same senior leadership.

“The team inherited some significant challenges across many services and although the trust had taken action to address some of those issues, executive leaders acknowledged there was still more to do. For example, there needs to be more engagement with staff who feel uncertain about the trust’s structural changes and what it means for them.

“The trust needs to make sure that staff feel empowered to help drive forward the improvements they want to deliver.

“At this inspection CQC again found staff at South Tyneside to be exceptionally caring, and this was reflected in all of the interactions we saw between them and patients.

“Moving forward, the trust board knows what it must do to ensure improvements are made and we will continue to monitor the service and re-inspect to check on their progress.”

Inspectors found ten breaches of regulation at this inspection, some of the areas where the trust must improve are:

• In urgent and emergency services, the areas used for assessing the mental health of patients must be safe, suitable and appropriately located.  
• The trust must ensure all patients on the medical wards are assessed for malnutrition.
• In critical care, the trust must improvement the management of risks.

Inspectors did also find some areas of outstanding practice:

• Staff were kind, compassionate and had a good understanding of patients’ needs. Inspectors observed that the privacy and dignity of patients was maintained at all times, and staff also recognised the emotional needs of patients.
• The surgical team had developed its gall bladder service to enable patients with symptoms to have an operation within 48 hours.
• The gastroenterology team was recognised in the HSJ Awards 2016 as the best in the country for global impact on clinical research.

Ends

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