Let’s take a look at some of the latest reports from Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Improved rating for maternity in the West Midlands
The maternity service at The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust has received a new rating of ‘good’ from CQC, following a previous rating of ‘requires improvement’ in April this year.
Carolyn Jenkinson, deputy director of secondary and specialist healthcare, noted “widespread improvement in the quality of care”, but noted that understaffing often affected timeliness and treatment.
The report highlighted that the service “should be commended” for how staff considered the needs of service users with protected characteristics, including individuals with neuro-disabilities receiving additional help with birth plans to support individual needs and and staff organising a sign language interpreter to be present to support a woman throughout labour. It also noted that staff “spoke highly of the supportive and inclusive culture with leaders that were visible and approachable.”
London cancer service rated ‘outstanding’
CQC rated the GenesisCare Centre for Radiotherapy at Cromwell Hospital as ‘outstanding’ following an inspection in March.
The service, independently run by Genesis Cancer Care UK Limited and providing both NHS and private cancer treatments, received the rating overall as well as being deemed outstanding for being “caring, responsible and well-led”. It was rated ‘good’ for safety and effectiveness.
CQC praised the service leaders for encouraging “an open culture in which everyone felt comfortable raising concerns and giving feedback” noting that “when people did raise concerns, leaders investigated and took action.” Staff were said to take “a genuine interest in people’s needs” and arranged additional support such as translators or interpreters where required.
Catriona Eglinton, CQC deputy director of operations in London, said of the inspection: “When we inspected the GenesisCare Centre at Cromwell Hospital we were very pleased to find leaders had encouraged an exceptional culture in which people’s needs and well-being were at the heart of their care.”
Improvements in urgent care at George Eliot Hospital
Following an inspection earlier this month at George Eliot NHS Hospital, the overall CQC rating for urgent and emergency care has risen from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’.
CQC also identified improvements in the area of safety and responsiveness along with leadership, with both receiving a new ‘good’ rating.
Sonia Brooks, CQC deputy director of operations in the Midlands, commented that the inspection found “staff working hard under sustained pressure and leaders managing priorities and issues to nurture a good culture and keep people safe.
In terms of future improvements, CQC noted a need to focus on ensuring that staff complete training, that documentation is kept updated, and that managers ensure that action plans are in place as necessary following audits.
Focused inspection at Gloucestershire Out of Hours
CQC has undertaken a check on the progress at Gloucestershire Out of Hours after a previous inspection in November led to a warning notice being issued and instruction to focus attention on how the service was being managed.
The service provides care to approximately 637,000 people in Gloucestershire when their usual GP practice is closed and is run by Practice Plus Group Urgent Care Limited.
The recent inspection found that the service has made enough improvements to meet the requirements of the warning notice, which means it is no longer active. The overall rating remains at ‘requires improvement’, as the check only assessed specific areas of concern and was not extensive enough to issue a new rating.
Neil Cox, CQC deputy director of operations in the south, noted that leaders had reviewed systems and processes, making changes to improve the service. He added that staff treated people with kindness and compassion and helped people understand their conditions, involving them in decisions about their care. However, more time was required to ensure that the changes put in place are effective.
In related news, we recently covered CQC’s Public Engagement Strategy for 2023-2026, which shares details on how CQC plans to improve engagement with service users, their families, unpaid carers and related organisations; read more here.
