CQC recognises further improvement at Whipps Cross
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has announced that surgical care at Whipps Cross Hospital is getting better.
Following an unannounced inspection of surgical care in April 2018, the CQC has improved its rating from ‘Inadequate’ to ‘Requires Improvement’.
The improvement means that no services are any longer rated ‘Inadequate’ overall across the whole of Whipps Cross Hospital, or indeed any of the five hospitals run by Barts Health NHS Trust.
During its inspection the CQC recognised much progress, subsequently improving ratings for Surgery being ‘Responsive’ and ‘Well led’ from ‘Inadequate’ to ‘Requires Improvement’. Surgery was one again rated ‘Good’ for ‘Caring’. However, inspectors found that further work is needed to move the ‘Safe’ domain out of ‘Inadequate’.
Alan Gurney, Managing Director at Whipps Cross Hospital, said: “The improved rating for Surgery is a wonderful achievement; testament to the continued dedication of our talented and caring staff. With no hospital service now rated ‘Inadequate’ overall it is good news for our patients and a significant milestone in our improvement journey to get to ‘Good’ and ‘Outstanding’.
“There is more work to be done and I am sorry for the instances where we have let people down. Having already made great strides in a short space of time we are determined to maintain this pace of change to consistently provide people with the safe surgical care we all aspire to.”
During the April inspection the CQC recognised:
- All patients said that they were treated with dignity and respect
- Staff treated patients with compassion and demonstrated a genuinely kind and caring attitude, even when busy and under pressure
- Significant improvement in infection control and cleanliness in theatres - with 15 of 16 staff groups achieving 100% compliance in training to prevent and control infection
- 90 per cent of patients were either extremely satisfied or satisfied with their pain management.
Whipps Cross hospital has worked hard to respond to concerns raised in April’s inspection, including having checked every ward to make sure that medicines are up to date, and taken immediate action to fix unsecure medicine storage facilities. Follow-up checks are ensuring that standards do not slip.
In addition, the hospital has:
- Refurbished a surgical ward to make it friendly and a positive experience for people with dementia
- Made it easier to recruit new staff by improving the application process for candidates
- Bolstered staffing in the pharmacy team to better support wards
- Invested £2 million to redevelop two operating theatres by October 2018.