CQC gives Trust clean bill of health

York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has been given a clean bill of health by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following its latest inspection visit.

The inspection team made unannounced visits to York and Scarborough Hospitals in early January 2013, and found the Trust to be meeting all of the essential standards they assessed.

The CQC inspected maternity and paediatric services at York Hospital, including the special care baby unit. At Scarborough Hospital they visited two day-case wards and the escalation ward, which houses additional beds that are opened at times of high demand, for example, during winter.  

During their visit the CQC’s team placed a significant focus on patient experience and patient feedback, and sought the views of staff, patients and their relatives.

In their report on York Hospital, they reported that, “Staff were described as ‘spot on’, ‘compassionate and caring’ and that they ‘went the extra mile’ to make sure they had checked people’s comfort and wellbeing.”

A patient was quoted as saying, “Everybody is really kind and wants to know if I have had a positive experience so far.”

The CQC reported that at Scarborough Hospital, “Everyone we spoke with made positive comments about the staff attending to them, and about their experiences whilst in hospital.”

They also reported that “People told us they thought the care was very good, that they were being properly cared for and their needs were being met.”

Libby McManus, Chief Nurse for York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I am delighted that we were found to be meeting these essential standards, and I would like to thank the staff who work hard every day to ensure that we are giving our patients the best possible care, especially at a time when the hospital is particularly busy.

“We welcome external scrutiny of our services, and it is important to us to know what others think of the care we provide. Therefore we listen to patients, staff and organisations such as the CQC to help us continually improve.

“This is the first time the CQC has conducted a routine inspection since we became a single organisation in July 2012, and it is a credit to all of our staff that we have been given external recognition of our improving standards.  It is particularly pleasing to read the positive comments made by patients and relatives.

“This is such a positive report for us, but we can never afford to be complacent, and as I would expect from such a detailed inspection the CQC highlighted a small number of minor areas for improvement. On the whole these concerned the environment and the general age and wear and tear of some of the facilities.

“We know that some of our wards are in need of updating, and we have plans in place through our capital development programme to improve the areas most in need. As part of the acquisition process we received £20m of funding from the Department of Health for capital investment at Scarborough Hospital, and we were recently awarded over £400k of funding to improve maternity facilities at York Hospital.”

Both reports can be downloaded from the CQC’s website: www.cqc.org.uk

Notes to editors:

The CQC made an unannounced visit to York Hospital on 8 and 9 January 2013, and Scarborough Hospital on 10 January 2013.

During this inspection they visited two children’s wards, antenatal, postnatal, and labour wards, maternity triage and the special care baby unit at York Hospital. At Scarborough Hospital they visited Dales Ward, Willow Ward and the new Graham Ward.

The CQC inspected the following essential standards:

York Hospital:

• Consent to care and treatment: Before people are given any examination, care, treatment or support, they should be asked if they agree to it.

• Care and welfare of people who use services: People should get safe and appropriate care that meet their needs and supports their rights.

• Safety and suitability of premises: People should be cared for in safe and accessible surroundings that support their health and welfare.

• Staffing: There should be enough members of staff to keep people safe and meet their health and welfare needs.

• Assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision: The service should have quality checking systems to manage risks and assure the health, welfare and safety of people who receive care. 

Scarborough Hospital:

• Staffing: There should be enough members of staff to keep people safe and meet their health and welfare needs.

• Assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision: The service should have quality checking systems to manage risks and assure the health, welfare and safety of people who receive care.   

07 March 2013