25.03.19
CQC finds ‘significant improvements’ at specialist London NHS trust
Significant improvements have been found by inspectors at the Royal National Orthopaedic NHS Trust (RNOH) in a “major step forward” for the trust.
The CQC found significant change at the specialist London trust, which has the largest orthopaedic hospital in the UK, with major improvements to organisational culture, impressive improvement initiatives, and innovative research projects.
The trust has been rated as ‘good’ by the inspectors, up from its previous rating of ‘requires improvement’ and the chief inspectors of hospitals Ted Baker said staff “should be proud of the progress made.”
He warned that the trust still faced some challenges such as limited provision or children with learning disabilities and behavioural needs, and said the CQC said the trust’s board knows what it must do to bring about further improvement.
RNOH’s chief executive, Rob Hurd, said: “This significant improvement in our rating is down to the commitment and hard work of everyone at the RNOH, focussing on delivering the very best patient care and developing a culture in which patients - and staff - feel cared for, valued and respected.
“I want to extend a thank you to all the teams across the trust for their efforts. This is one major step forward in our aim to not only maintain the RNOH's position as the country's leading specialist musculoskeletal centre, but also to become the best place to work in the NHS.”
The trust remains as requires improvement for being safe, but overall the quality of services “improved significantly” compared to its previous inspection in 2014 which found issues with some of the premises and the trust’s estate and assurance processes.
Paul Fish, the director of nursing, quality and patient experience added that he was “extremely proud” of the highly specialist, patient-focussed care delivered by the trust’s staff.