12.01.18
Yorkshire NHS trust shows ‘real improvement’ to reach higher CQC rating
Humber NHS FT has been moved from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’ by the CQC after the regulator found advancements in care across services in most of the trust.
Following a visit from investigators between September and October last year, the CQC found that “real improvement” was present at the trust, pointing to a number of areas of outstanding practice.
In particular, inspectors picked out the learning disability service, in which they said there was a culture of development and improvement, leading staff to undertake additional training to enhance their practice.
Humber has been listed under the ‘requires improvement’ rating since its last inspection in August 2016, and Michele Moran, chief executive at the trust, said she was ‘delighted’ with the upgrade.
“To go from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’ in less than 16 months represents a remarkable turnaround in the trust’s performance and is a fitting tribute to the extraordinary effort, commitment and loyalty of our staff,” she said.
“Our patients, carers and their relatives can be assured that we will act on the inspectors’ advice as we continue working hard to further improve our services.”
Trust ‘still has a lot of work to do’
However, there were a number of areas pointed out by the CQC in which the trust can still improve, including breaches in regulation relating to the training and numbers of staff and rooms at Miranda House, one of the trust’s facilities.
Jenny Wilkes, the head of inspection for mental health at the regulator, commented: “Although inspectors saw improvement, the trust still has a lot of work to do. They must ensure there are enough qualified staff on duty to keep people safe, and that those staff are up to date with their mandatory training.
“The trust should be pleased with their new rating, and they know where we have told them they must improve. We will check on the progress of these improvements at our next follow up inspection.”
Humber was also rated ‘good’ for effectiveness, responsiveness and leadership – all up from ‘requires improvement’ – and ‘requires improvement’ for safety compared to its previous ‘inadequate’ rating.
The trust achieved ‘good’ across-the-board ratings for community and primary medical services, and ‘outstanding’ for the responsiveness and care of its wards for people with a learning disability or autism.
Humber NHS FT runs around 70 sites across Hull, the East Riding of Yorkshire and Whitby, covering around 600,000 households.
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