15.08.18
CQC praise of former special-measures Sherwood FT marks start of ‘next stage of journey’
A Nottinghamshire trust that had previously been in special measures has gone through significant improvements, according to the health inspectorate.
CQC inspectors found care provided by staff members at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS FT was ‘outstanding,’ while well-led practice moved from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good.’ Responsive and effective services were also rated as ‘good’ by the inspectorate.
The trust chief executive Richard Mitchell said he was “delighted” with the assessment that found all of the 10 core services were rated as ‘good’ overall.
Sherwood — which provides general and acute care across King’s Mill, Newark, and Mansfield Community hospitals — also had four services that were rated as ‘outstanding,’ from its maternity care to its urgent and emergency services for outpatients.
In its assessment of staff behaviour towards patients, CQC inspectors said: “The kindness and compassion demonstrated by staff in all roles and at all levels of responsibility was of a consistently high standard and each team demonstrated how they routinely exceeded expectations.
“For example, a healthcare assistant attended the ward on their day off to help a patient with hair styling before they went home. In another example staff had provided weekend accommodation and care for the relative of a patient who was very distressed over their transition to end of life care.”
Responding to the positive findings, Mitchell commented: “I am delighted with our overall rating of ‘good’ and that inspectors specifically recognised that the trust was ‘outstanding’ in the caring domain.
“I am extremely grateful to the wonderful staff and volunteers at Sherwood who have all contributed to this rating. This marks the beginning of the next stage of our journey at Sherwood.”
Despite the vast majority of services being rated as ‘good,’ the trust’s overall safe rating remained as ‘requires improvement.’ Mitchell explained that whilst they were disappointed with this, it is “because of the services not visited in 2018 and who have ratings that now date back up to four years.”
“I am confident that if we continue to improve and continue to work closely with the CQC and NHS Improvement, this rating will change in our 2019 inspection. All 10 services rated in 2018 received ‘good’ for safety which is a very powerful statement,” he added.
Sherwood Forest Hospitals FT provides services for 420,000 people across the Midlands, including Mansfield, Ashfield, Sherwood, and parts of Derbyshire and Lincolnshire. It was taken out of special measures in November 2016 after being placed into the category following a review in 2013.
Also in 2016, work to merge Sherwood with Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust collapsed, costing the NHS around £10m in total.
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