Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has welcomed the latest report from the Care Quality Commission following a routine inspection of its services earlier this year.
The Trust, which has been working closely with the healthcare regulator since an initial visit 18 months ago, has been given a rating of requires improvement.
While this is the same rating that was awarded following the 2015 inspection, the CQC have commended the Trust for taking “significant action” over the last two years and noted that progress was being seen across the whole organisation.
Nerissa Vaughan, Chief Executive, said that while there is still more to do, specifically around maintaining safe care during busy periods, the feedback shows the Trust to be in a much stronger position than eighteen months ago.
She said: “We’ve been on a journey of improvement for the last two years. It’s one we are still on and one the CQC recognised as being “underpinned by realistic goals”.
“I’m pleased that nearly two thirds of our services are now rated as either good or outstanding and I’m delighted for our incredibly dedicated Emergency Department team, whose caring approach to patients was rated as outstanding.
“There was praise, too, for our culture of innovation, with the CQC highlighting our Cardiology department as leading the way in their field after the team implanted the country’s first four-lead pacemaker.
“We’ve also made great strides in getting some of our most essential services, such as mental health support and X-ray, operating across seven days. I’m happy this change has helped us to be rated as good for being an effective healthcare provider.
“Of course, some areas are not where they should be and I’m in no way complacent about the work that’s still ahead of us.
“However, we’re in a strong position to implement change, especially since becoming the provider of community healthcare services in Swindon, which gives us some exciting opportunities to provide a better experience for patients when they move between hospital and home and to ensure our urgent and emergency care services are truly integrated in the wider health economy.
“We have a strong track record of making improvements – even when faced with ever-increasing demand from a rapidly growing and ageing population – and it’s this resilience that will get us to where we need to be.
“We’re constantly making changes to improve our organisation and I’m confident that any future inspection would again show us as moving in the right direction.”
The CQC carried out its inspection during five separate visits to the Great Western Hospital and the Urgent Care Centre across March and April.
Inspectors visited a range of wards and departments and spoke with staff at all levels, as well as patients and members of their families, to gauge a picture of the care provided by the Trust.
For more information, visit www.cqc.org.uk.
