HOSPITALS in Coventry and Rugby have been rated ‘good’ in a new Care Quality Commission (CQC) report.
The findings come after routine inspections of University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust, which runs University Hospital Coventry (UHC) and the Hospital of St Cross in Rugby, last September and November.
Medical care and surgery services at University Hospital Coventry have again been rated ‘good’, but the hospital’s ratings for children and young people and for urgent and emergency care services have both dropped from ‘good’ to ‘requires improvement’.
Surgery at St Cross has again been rated ‘good’.
Inspectors said leaders at the trust were capable, compassionate and inclusive, and the trust was a leader in areas of innovation and research.
The trust was also praised for having achieved financial balance in its most recent accounts and received positive comments from external auditors.
However, inspectors identified areas of culture and wellbeing which needed to be improved, and said the board needed to demonstrate it was learning and making sustainable change and improvement.
The trust was also told it needed to demonstrate the impact of its equality, diversity and inclusion work.
Amanda Lyndon, CQC deputy director of operations in the midlands, said: “We found compassionate leaders who led by example and put people at the heart of their decisions. We spoke to many people who had positive experiences of using services.
“Despite finding some breaches in individual services, the strong leadership reassured us that action would be taken to tackle these.
“Senior leaders at board level listened to the views and concerns of people in the trust’s care. By listening to feedback and taking action, the trust showed commitment to providing services that meets local population needs and making changes that improved people’s experiences.
“The trust recognised the value of working closely with partner organisations to provide consistent care. Teams shared learning and information with other organisations as they collaborated to deliver effective services.”
She said that, although some breaches were found during service inspections, people told inspectors staff treated them with kindness and respect, were pleased with the treatment they received, and felt safe.
“We observed a strong learning and improvement culture throughout the organisation. Staff in each service reviewed incidents thoroughly and used findings to improve care and support.
“However, pressures across the healthcare system affected service quality and people’s experiences in urgent and emergency care. We recognise the trust can’t solve all these issues alone. A national increase in people seeking emergency care and insufficient social care provision forces people to remain in hospital beds longer, leading to admission delays from the emergency department. I encourage the local healthcare system to continue working together to identify solutions.
“We also had specific concerns about breaches in regulation related to how staff were able to provide safe care and treatment to some children and young people in crisis.
“Overall, leaders and staff should be pleased with our well-led assessment and the many positive findings from our service inspections. We identified areas needing improvement and look forward to seeing their continued progress and how plans mature.”
UHCW Chief Executive Officer Professor Andy Hardy said staff were thrilled that both hospitals had maintained the rating earned at the last inspection in 2019.
He said: “We are delighted the CQC have recognised the high levels of expertise and compassion amongst our teams.
“Whilst the report contains so many positives, there is always room for improvement and we will continuously strive to enhance all aspects of the trust’s services with our partners across Coventry and Warwickshire.
“We would like to thank everyone who works for the Trust for the pride they show in delivering the best patient experience possible.”
He said action plans would be created to address shortcomings – including work to expand the often crowded waiting room at UHC’s Emergency Department, which is set to start on Monday (August 18).
Full reports can be found on the CQC’s website pages for University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (https://www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RKB), University Hospital Coventry (https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/RKB01), and the Hospital of St Cross (https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/RKB03).
