The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated North East London NHS Foundation Trust good, following an inspection in June.
The inspection was carried out as part of CQC’s ongoing checks on the safety and quality of healthcare services provided to people across England, and to see whether improvements had been made across three of the trust’s core services.
The overall rating of the trust improved from requires improvement to good, as did the rating for acute wards for adults and psychiatric intensive care units. The rating for mental health crisis services and health based places of safety moved from inadequate to good.
A focused inspection of community mental health services for children and young people in Kent was undertaken to see whether improvements had been made. This inspection didn’t generate a rating as it only focused on services delivered in Kent.
As well as being rated good overall, North East London NHS Foundation Trust is rated good for being effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs and well-led. It is rated requires improvement for being safe.
Jane Ray, CQC head of hospital inspection, said:
“Following our latest inspections of North East London NHS Foundation Trust, I was pleased to see that improvements had been made right across the organisation, and that standards of care for people had improved.
“This is testament to the hard work and commitment of staff and leaders, who have made great strides, even while dealing with the added pressures caused by COVID-19.
“We inspected at a particularly challenging time for the trust, but despite this we found the culture of the trust was much improved and staff felt more confident about raising concerns and having these addressed to drive improvement.
“People’s wellbeing was at the very centre of the care provided by staff, who were clearly committed to delivering the best service possible.
“While the trust recognises there is still work to do, the progress that has been made is extremely encouraging and I look forward to seeing it build on these strong foundations to best serve the people in all the geographical areas covered by the trust.”
The trust-wide inspection found:
- Significant improvements to the mental health acute and crisis core services
- Improved standards of care and treatment for those on acute inpatient mental health wards
- Many more patients experiencing a mental health crisis received timely care
- The trust had designed and implemented an innovative crisis assessment hub for people who were self-referring or signposted by emergency services. People could access timely assessment and support from a dedicated team at the hub
- Staff put patients at the forefront of their work and were committed to providing the best care possible
- There was a high level of enthusiasm and pride in the work of the trust amongst staff
- The trust worked hard during the pandemic to meet the needs of local communities by providing vaccine services, step-down beds to support acute hospital discharges, the Nightingale Hospital and long-COVID clinics
- The trust had successfully implemented new ways of working to keep patients and staff as safe as possible during the pandemic
- Senior leaders were visible and accessible and worked well and cohesively together
- The trust had moved away from a culture of blame, and this shift was led by the previous interim Chief Executive, who was described by staff as a ‘breath of fresh air’. The current leadership had continued to embed this approach
- Staff felt able to escalate concerns to senior leaders so that improvements could be made
- The trust continued its commitment to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion. The board was more diverse and the leadership programme for Black, Asian and ethnic minority staff supported career progression
- There was outstanding practice in the trust’s use of technology to improve standards for prescribing and administering medication. This had a positive impact on patient safety and increased staff confidence.
The inspection of specialist community mental health services for children and young people in Kent found:
- Clinical premises were safe and clean, and staff were able to give each patient the time they needed
- Care plans were bespoke, holistic and recovery focused
- Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness and respected their privacy and dignity
- Staff actively involved patients, families and carers and in care decisions.
The findings of both reports include areas of improvement for the trust, which must:
- Ensure staff complete all mandatory training
- Improve assessment and treatment times for young people
- Ensure changes in risk to young people waiting for treatment are consistently monitored and identified across all teams.