Updated 21 July 2022
We carried out this announced well led and unannounced core service inspection of Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust acute services provided by this trust because we had concerns about the quality of services. We also inspected the well-led key question for the trust overall.
We inspected two core services within the acute trust, Urgent and Emergency Care and Medical Care as well as Well Led (the trust’s leadership). We inspected due to ongoing concerns regarding wait times in the trust’s emergency department and flow throughout the trust.
Our rating of services stayed the same. We rated them as good because:
We rated effective, caring, responsive and well-led as good, and safe as requires improvement.
We rated one of the trust’s nine services as good and one as requires improvement. In rating the trust, we took into account the current ratings of the seven services not inspected this time.
- The trust generally had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients acted on them.
- Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink, and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information. Key services were available seven days a week.
- Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
- The trust planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback.
- Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued and were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities and were committed to improving services continually.
However,
- The provider did not always ensure mandatory training was completed. In particular the trust did not meet its targets for mandatory life support or safeguarding training for all staff.
- Not all medicines and fluids were stored in accordance with guidance.
- The service was not always able to provide care in a way that met the needs of local people and the communities served. People were not always able to access care and treatment in a timely way and in the right setting.
- Responses to complaints were not completed in a timely way and did not always identify learning opportunities.
How we carried out the inspection
We looked at 27 care records, 10 prescription charts. We spoke to 19 patients and 113 staff members across the service. This included staff nurses, senior nurses, junior doctors, consultants, healthcare assistant, matrons, clinical service managers and senior leadership team members. We visited all areas of the medical and urgent and emergency core services, attended operational meetings and also reviewed environment and, equipment across the core services.
You can find further information about how we carry out our inspections on our website: www.cqc.org.uk/what-we-do/how-we-do-our-job/what-we-do-inspection.