18.06.18
Bradford trust must continue to improve, says CQC
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been told that it must make improvements following a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection.
Between 9 and 11 January 2018, the CQC inspected the urgent and emergency, medical, surgical and maternity services of the trust, which comprises Bradford Royal Infirmary, St. Luke’s Hospital, Westwood Park, Eccleshill and Westbourne Green.
Following the inspection, the trust’s overall rating remains as requires improvement – unchanged from the rating received after its last inspection in 2016.
However, the trust’s rating for effectiveness worsened from good to requires improvement, which was partly due to a sepsis audit indicator in the emergency department.
Just 16% of patients received antibiotics within an hour, as recommended by NICE guidelines, against a national average of 44%. However, the inspectors did note that action was being taken to improve this, with staff training and an updated sepsis guideline.
For the trust's 'well-led' rating, standards improved from requires improvement to good, with strong local leaderships reported by the inspectors.
Emergency services at Bradford Royal Infirmary also improved from requires improvement to good, with a new emergency department addressing the commission’s concerns about the limitations of the previous department’s facilities.
Chief inspector of hospitals, Professor Ted Baker, said that he was pleased to report that “real improvement” had been found in a number of areas, despite the trust’s overall rating remaining the same.
“I was encouraged to see that there was a positive culture across the trust, reflected by our improved rating for well led.
“I particularly note the work to ensure that strategic objectives and vision are shared with the staff, who told us they feel appreciated and valued as a result,” he explained.
In terms of delayed transfers of care, the trust performed well: remaining consistently under 2% between October 2017 and March 2018 compared to the national average of 3.5%.
Baker added: “The trust must focus their efforts on those areas where we have identified the need for further improvement.
“In particular we found that compliance with mandatory training was variable, and infection prevention and control was not being consistently collected for audit.”
The trust will continue to be monitored closely.