CQC maintains ‘outstanding’ rating for caring services at Trust

THE overall rating for Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust remains the same at ‘requires improvement’ following a CQC inspection last autumn.

The inspection of some of the Trust’s services took place during the period 4^th September to 11^th October last year, with publication of the findings today which reveal the overall rating for the Trust remains the same.
The Trust has committed to continuing to make improvements and has already made changes to ensure that patients receive high quality care across all parts of the Trust. As well as making recommendations, the CQC report notes a number of outstanding practices with the overall ‘outstanding’ rating for being caring.
In urgent and emergency care across both City and Sandwell hospitals, the services were rated as ‘requires improvement’ with an ‘outstanding’ rating for the critical care service.
Good practice that the inspectors singled out for praise included:

• The domestic violence advocacy service in our emergency department
• An initiative to cut pressure sores that has been successful in winning local awards
• Dedicated listening time for stroke rehabilitation relatives and patients
• Conversation cards in the infant feeding team to provide vital information for new mums

Toby Lewis Chief Executive commented: “We are pleased that no safety concerns remain in our ratings table.  Obviously our work to achieve a Trust-wide Good rating continues, and our community services for both children and adults reach that mark already.  We know that for acute services we have more room for improvement.
“Most pleasingly, we have maintained our Outstanding rating for Caring.  This is a tribute to the hard work and compassion of our teams across the organisation.
“Since the CQC inspectors visited the Trust last year we have made a number of improvements including:

• A focus on recruitment to fill vacancies
• New resuscitation trolleys that are more secure
• Supporting all our staff to be compliant with mandatory training requirements

“We continue to make improvements in the services we provide to our patients and we will:

• Ensure that all our staff are fully aware of the requirements under the mental capacity act
• Continue to encourage an open culture so that all colleagues feel supported in raising any issues of concern through our many speak up routes
• Focus on clear ways to share learning across the Trust
• Make sure that the way we understand and manage risks is well-understood in all services and departments

“We will work with the Care Quality Commission, and with our partners within the STP, to adopt best practice across our Trust, and I look forward to welcoming the inspectors in 2020.”

ENDS