‘Good’ rating for three out of four services inspected at Croydon Health Services by the CQC
21 February 2018
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has today (21 February) rated three of out of four core services at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust as ‘Good’ following a routine inspection.
The unannounced inspection carried out during October and November 2017 focused on surgery, critical care, end of life care and outpatients at both Croydon University Hospital and Purley War Memorial Hospital.
The inspectors found there had been improvements in surgery, end of life care and outpatients, raising the rating from ‘Requires Improvement’ to ‘Good’ in all three services. The CQC rated critical care as “Requires Improvement.”
For the second time, the Trust was rated as ‘Good’ for caring. The CQC also increased the Trust’s rating to ‘Good’ for responsive services. The Trust was rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ overall – the same as its last inspection in June 2015.
Publishing their findings, the CQC’s inspectors reported:
- “Staff cared for patients with compassion, treating them with dignity and respect,” and “involved patients and those close to them in decisions about their care.”
- “Patients could access services quicker because of the improvements the Trust had made.”
The CQC found that Croydon was “performing consistently better than the England average for people with cancer being seen within two weeks of an urgent GP referral.”
Among surgical patients spoken to by inspectors, regular users of the service and their relatives said “care had vastly improved over the last two to three years.”
John Goulston, Chief Executive, said: “We are really pleased that the inspectors have seen how well we have progressed since 2015 resulting in them giving ‘Good’ ratings to three of the four core services they inspected.
“They praised the caring, compassionate and respectful attitude of our staff which is so important to ensure that our patients feel confident and well looked after. The inspectors also highlighted how more staff felt proud to work at the Trust and said our senior leadership team had improved, strengthened and become more stable, with a clear set of values.
“However there are areas where more progress is needed and Trust remains as ‘Requires Improvement’ overall. These are challenging times for the NHS, with ever increasing demand on our services and financial pressures, so we haven’t been able to progress as quickly as we hoped on some of our refurbishment plans such as enhancing our critical care environment.
“We must now address the issues raised by the CQC and quickly act on their recommendations. With the support of our excellent staff and the determination of our senior team, we are confident that the next time the CQC inspects us they will see further improvements have been made.”
Specific CQC actions that the Trust must now take are:
- Ensure that all patients with mental health needs receive care in line with national best practice that meets the requirements of the Mental Health Act.
- Ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and ensure they are translated into practice. Staff should be able to provide when required evidence that, where appropriate, demonstrates mental capacity assessments and DoLs have been carried out and recorded.
In critical care, actions that the Trust must now address includes: improving the management of medicines; urgently reviewing fire safety compliance; and reviewing the storage of equipment in the unit.
Other recommended actions for the Trust include, addressing maintenance and minor repairs, increasing the number of End of Life Care consultants and ensuring staff adhere to the Trust’s policy and guidance on infection control measures.
Some of the positive findings from the CQC inspection report include:
- The percentage of cancelled operations not treated within 28 days and the average length of stay for surgical elective patients was better than the England average;
- Patients, families and carers gave positive feedback about the care being received;
- Surgical wards appeared clean and tidy and staff followed good practices for cleanliness and hygiene;
- For surgical patients, pain was appropriately managed and there was effective multi-disciplinary working as “staff worked together as a team for the benefits of patients”
- People’s spiritual needs were supported through the chaplaincy;
- The Trust treated concerns and complaints seriously and investigated them;
- There is a better culture for reporting incidents and shared learning;
- The Trust ensures it includes and communicates effectively with patients, staff, the public and local organisations;
- The Trust’s services are planned and delivered according to the needs of local people.
You can read the full CQC report here.