Today, we published our first four reports, which detail our findings from our new way of inspecting hospitals in England. They cover Croydon Health Services, Airedale, The Royal Wolverhampton and Taunton and Somerset.
Key findings
Croydon Health Services NHS Trust
Overall, the report concludes that the new senior management team at the trust are working hard to change its culture. Despite this, there were still areas of the hospital where care needed to be significantly improved.
- Some outpatient clinics were poorly organised and significant numbers of older people were being discharged in the evening.
- We were concerned about low staffing levels affecting patient care especially in wards for older people.
- Poor physical environment in A&E and in some other parts of the hospital made the delivery of care difficult.
Airedale NHS Foundation Trust
Patients at Airedale General Hospital were positive about the care they received and staff said that they felt proud to work at the hospital.
- There was a good sense of community, with high levels of volunteering.
- The trust is well-managed and benefits from a stable, experienced board and a clear governance structure.
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
Overall the report concludes that The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust is generally providing patients with safe and effective care.
However, there are a number of areas for improvement. There was a shortage of midwives and concerns regarding staffing in surgical care and wards caring for older people.
Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
Overall the report concludes that Musgrove Park Hospital is providing patients with safe and effective care.
But the hospital is dealing with a high number of patients and the quality of care and the effectiveness of treatment was affected at busy times. Some patients were experiencing long waits for surgery and outpatient appointments.
About the inspections
The inspections were led by our Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards.
The teams – called inspection panels – included doctors, nurses and other experts and trained members of the public.
They carried out a mixture of announced and unannounced visits and included inspections in the evenings and weekends when we know people can experience poor care.
The inspections covered every site that delivers acute services and looked at eight key services areas below.
- Accident and emergency
- Medical care (including frail elderly)
- Surgery
- Intensive/critical care
- Maternity
- Paediatrics/children’s care
- End of life care
- Outpatients
On the evening of the first day of each inspection there was a ‘listening event’ where local people were able to tell members of the inspection panel their views of the hospital’s care.
Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards said: "These reports mark an important milestone in our new approach to hospital inspections. By using larger teams including more experts and people who have used hospital services, we have really been able to get under the skin of these trusts. The inspections have been backed up by CQC’s new intelligent monitoring, giving the teams the information they needed to focus their inspections on areas of concern.
"Our aim was to answer five key questions about each service: is it safe, caring, effective, well-led and responsive to people’s needs? I believe the reports answer these questions and give people a much richer picture of the care provided in their local hospitals than has ever before been available – and they highlight the good as well as the areas where my inspection teams found improvements are needed."
By March 2015, CQC will have inspected every NHS acute Trust in England with this new approach.
Read the reports
You can also find out more by reading our full press release...
CQC publishes first four reports from its new hospital inspections