22.10.19
Western Sussex Hospitals NHS FT rated Outstanding for the second time
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has awarded Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust an overall Outstanding rating for their services provided.
This is the second time the trust has received this outstanding feedback, this time across all five sections.
These include inspecting if the trust’s services are safe, effective, caring, responsible and well-led.
The trust includes Southlands Hospital, Worthing Hospital and St Richard’s Hospital and serves a population of around 450,000 people across West Sussex.
The review, carried out by a team of CQC inspectors, took place between 23 - 25 June 2019, aimed to assess five key areas, specifically critical care units at both Worthing and St Richard’s Hospitals as this particular service received the lowest rating in precious inspections.
The responsive section of outpatients across all three sites had raised some concerns previously with CQC about the referral to treatment time.
The last Outstanding rating for the trust came in April 2016, and it has now become the first non-specialist acute trust to be awarded Outstanding in all five domains.
NHS Improvement also assessed the trust’s Use of Resources (UoR), included in the CQC’s report, and rated them Outstanding for using its resources productively.
CQC’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Ted Baker, said:
“Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has taken to heart our original inspection report and built on it – not just in those areas where improvements were required, but in their stronger areas too and doing this while supporting another local NHS trust. They are now the first non-specialist acute trust to be rated as Outstanding in all domains.”
“This determination to develop a culture of continuous improvement has improved services for patients and it is a tremendous achievement. Congratulations to all the staff at the trust.”
“Throughout the inspection we found a strong culture of safety across the trust in which all staff were engaged. Staff spoke positively about the patient journey and the striving for continual improvement. The hard work has paid off in making a real difference to the lives of people using the services. Everyone who has played a part in this should be very proud of this outcome.”
Comments from the inspectors include finding that the trust managed patient safety incidents very well and staff recognised incidents and reported them, leaders were aware of incidents and could provide details when errors occurred, and the actions taken to prevent mistakes happening again.
They also found that a swift reaction was made when unexpected errors occurred, solving them in an effective way.