Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust has been rated Good overall for a second time by the Care Quality Commission.
Inspectors focused on three of the six core services provided by the trust. At a previous inspection, community inpatient services were rated as Requires Improvement for safe. Community dental services and sexual health services had not been previously inspected.
As a result of the latest inspection, community inpatient services have been rated Good overall, and the service has been rated as Outstanding for caring. Community dental services and sexual health services have been rated Good. Overall the rating of the trust remains Good.
Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust is the main provider of NHS community health and care services across West Sussex, Brighton & Hove and High Weald Lewes Havens area of East Sussex.
A full report has been published on our website.
Inspectors found that staff throughout community inpatient services had an overwhelming pride in the service and level of care they delivered. There were numerous examples of where staff went the extra mile in delivering care to patients.
Although the level of staffing was identified as an issue at some locations, the trust had put in a variety of measures to ensure patient safety was maintained. Managers considered the risk of staffing levels routinely at all locations and took appropriate action to reduce the risk.
The management and quality of medical records was found to vary across the service. Some locations were using a single record and others had information stored in a variety of documents, which meant there was no one place for staff to access information. The trust was in the process of implementing a single patient record.
Catherine Campbell, Head of Hospital inspection for the South East, said:
“Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust provide a range of clinical services to a population of 1.3 million people. During this inspection we found that the care delivered in community inpatient services was outstanding. Staff consistently put patients at the centre of everything they did."
“Overall we found that safety had improved and services were delivered in line with the needs of the local population."
“There is still some work to do and we will continue to monitor the service and return in due course to check the progress made in the areas for improvement that have been identified."
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