Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has been rated Outstanding overall by the Care Quality Commission for the quality of its care.
The trust was rated Outstanding for being well-led and caring. It was rated Good for being safe, effective and responsive following the inspection in May and June 2018.
The core services CQC inspected were urgent and emergency care, medical care and outpatients at Kingston Hospital.
Inspectors found that trust staff treated patients with dignity, kindness and compassion. They took the time to interact with patients and those close to them in a respectful and considerate way.
Staff treated patients as partners in their care. They took the time to ensure patients and their families understood treatment plans and answered questions to explain what was going to happen next to provide reassurance.
Emergency Department (ED) staff went to the canteen and obtained cooked breakfasts for patients and their relatives who had been in the department overnight, and this was embedded in practice.
In the emergency department staff had designed two new resuscitation bays which included annexes so relatives could be close to critically unwell patients and not have to leave the area to go to the family room.
ED staff also designed five new purpose-built dementia friendly cubicles. These created a calming environment for patients who may be distressed when in a busy emergency department.
There was a member of staff in the outpatient’s department with a guide dog as part of living with their disability. This highlighted the trust’s commitment to equality and diversity.
The trust’s leadership, governance and culture was used to drive and improve the delivery of high-quality person-centred care. Leaders at all levels demonstrated the high levels of experience, capacity and capability needed to deliver excellent and sustainable care. Board members were visible to frontline staff and were valued and respected by their colleagues. They consistently engaged with frontline staff and there were a range of forums where staff could interact with board members.
The trust was a key participant in the local sustainability and transformation plans (STP). Local population needs were clearly embedded in the trust’s plans and there was a process of defining the patient cohort and identifying their needs.
The trust supported the local Healthwatch organisation to gather views at various listening stations regarding their experience of outpatient appointments and discharge. The trust ran several events to engage with the local population, local MPs and the local authority. The trust had focus and commitment on several initiatives to support its diverse staff. These included a Brexit group, a minority ethnic group (MEGA), a disability group and an LGBT group.
However, there were some areas where the trust should improve. These included in the emergency department:
- Increase the numbers of medical staff, in particular middle grade doctors.
- Improve the rates of mandatory training completion for both medical and nursing staff.
On medical care wards:
- Continue to develop services towards full seven days per week availability, particularly for diagnostic tests.
- Ensure all oral medicines in drug trolleys and ward stock have a clear label showing when the medicine was opened and the date by which it should be disposed of.
In the outpatients department:
- Improve staff hand hygiene and adherence to hand washing before and after seeing patients.
Professor Ted Baker, England’s Chief inspector of Hospitals, said:
“There has been much improvement at Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the staff and leadership team deserve praise and congratulations for the care being provided to patients.
“The trust should be proud to be the first acute trust in the London region to receive an Outstanding rating for being well-led.
“I was particularly impressed with the way the trust is caring for patients with dementia. The design innovation of providing new purpose-built dementia friendly cubicles was particularly good.”
The CQC has also published the trust’s Use of Resources report, which is based on an assessment undertaken by NHS Improvement. Various factors are considered by NHSI, including a combination of data on the trust’s financial performance over the previous 12 months, NHS Improvement’s local intelligence and the trust’s assessment of its performance. As a result of this review the trust has been rated as Requires Improvement for use of its resources during the 2017/18 financial year.
The combined rating for the trust, taking into account CQC’s inspection for the quality of services and NHS Improvement’s assessment of the use of resources is Good.
when it is published on our website.
The trust should be proud to be the first acute trust in the London region to receive an Outstanding rating for being well-led
CQC’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Ted Baker