Caring and compassionate staff take NHS Trust on a journey of improvement

News from our partners Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust

A major inspection report published today (Wednesday 16 August 2017) by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has praised the caring and compassionate staff at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH).

The report – which also identifies important areas for improvement at the Trust which runs Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) and the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) – follows an inspection by the CQC in December 2016.

The CQC rates services by classifying them as Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement or Inadequate against five criteria to determine whether services are safe, effective, caring responsive and well-led.

Overall, SaTH has been rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ – though medical care is rated as ‘good’ at both hospitals.

The CQC report findings

The hospital is also rated as ‘Good’ for caring and effectiveness, with inspectors saying they saw examples of good care on every ward and department they visited. But a number of areas for improvement are also highlighted. These include poor medical staffing levels and failing to achieve the Department of Health’s target of discharging, admitting or transferring 95% of A&E patients within four hours. These are areas the Trust expects to improve once the proposed strategic service redesign is delivered.

Simon Wright, Chief Executive at SaTH, said:

“The CQC recognises a number of improvements since its last inspection. However, they still rated us a ‘Requires Improvement’. We recognise this as a fair and balanced report, and furthermore we will be encouraging the CQC to return to our hospitals to inspect areas that were not re-visited as part of the inspection as we know we have made other significant improvements.

“The Trust has made significant improvement in the past two years, with 64 per cent of the areas inspected now rated as Good. This improvement is particularly noticeable within Medical Care, but there is also positive movement within Surgery and End of Life Care.

“One thing that is clear throughout the report is the care and compassion our staff show to our patients every single day. Indeed, we were rated ‘Good’ for caring and one of the key findings of the report was that patients consistently told inspectors how staff cared for them with compassion and kindness.

“The Trust is also rated ‘Good’ when it comes to being effective. The report tells us that people’s care and treatment is planned and delivered in line with current evidence-based guidance, standards, best practice and legislation. Furthermore, it adds that the outcomes for people who use the service are generally positive.

“We must not, however, gloss over the areas where we can and must improve. The fragility of our A&E Departments and some of our other services is no secret, but we are working hard to resolve the challenges these services are facing. The need to resolve these challenges is the driving force behind our plans to reconfigure hospital services and to work more closely with GPs. We have set out a clear future that will bring state-of-the-art services into our county, protect those already here and encourage health professionals to want to come here, to work and live in this beautiful area.

“We are also addressing many of our issues though our partnership with the Virginia Mason Institute in America – recognised as the world’s safest hospital. During their visit the inspection team were incredibly impressed with this work, as well as our Transforming Care Institute, where the innovation and change work is housed, describing it as an area of ‘outstanding practice’.”

Deirdre Fowler, Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Quality, added:

“An area where we have really improved is in End of Life Care. SaTH made this a strategic priority in 2015 and the inspection team recognised the Swan Scheme, which has been rolled out across the Trust, as an area of ‘outstanding practice’.

“Over the past few years SaTH has taken great pride in being an open and transparent organisation and therefore I am delighted the inspection team commented on an increasing atmosphere of openness, honesty and candour and that this is being led by senior leaders.

“I am also pleased that the report recognises that we have defined and embedded systems, processes and standard operating procedures to keep people safe, and that treatment is planned and delivered in line with national guidelines and best practice recommendations. Clearly, however, our overall rating of Requires Improvement tells us we are still on a journey and that there are areas where we can and must make improvements.

“The report states that our maternity service is in a transitional period and although new senior leaders have started to make positive changes, the inspectors had some concerns regarding embedded safety and culture. Since our last inspection we have commissioned the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to help in this regard and internally we have introduced a fifth Value Stream, as part of our work with the Virginia Mason Institute, to improve patient safety.

“We welcome these helpful observations and have taken immediate actions to improve the situation.”

Professor Ted Baker, the CQC’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said:

“Our inspectors found a number of improvements had been made at SaTH since our last inspection, and staff are to be commended for this.”

Simon Wright added:

“I cannot speak highly enough of the staff at SaTH. I appreciate times can be challenging but I believe, and the CQC report suggests it too, that we are on the brink of something exciting. There was further evidence of this during the initial verbal feedback I received from inspectors who said we have made a ‘demonstrable step forward’ and have demonstrated areas of ‘outstanding care’.

“The journey continues and we welcome the scrutiny of our regulators in charting our progress, in the very near future from ‘Requires Improvement’ to ‘Good’ and ultimately to ‘Outstanding’.”

You can find more information by visiting the dedicated CQC page on our website at www.sath.nhs.uk

Further information

• The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust is the main provider of acute hospital care for almost 500,000 people from Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid Wales. Patients come to us from Telford, Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Oswestry, Bridgnorth, Whitchurch, Newtown and Welshpool in Powys.
• The Trust continues to work with its partners in health and social care in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid Wales to develop patient-focused services that meet the needs of our communities.
• If you have any feedback about local healthcare, independent support and signposting is available from Healthwatch Shropshire, Healthwatch Telford and Wrekin and Powys Community Health Council (CHC):
• Healthwatch Shropshire: 01743 237884 or email the team via enquiries@healthwatchshropshire.co.uk
• Healthwatch Telford and Wrekin: 01952 739540 or email info@healthwatchtelfordandwrekin.co.uk
• Powys CHC: 01686 627632 or email enquiries.powyschc@waleschc.org.uk

For more information contact Richard Jones, Communications Officer at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, on 01743 492274.