A Cumbrian NHS trust has made some improvements, the health watchdog has found.
The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, responsible for Furness General Hospital in Barrow, Kendal’s Westmorland General Hospital and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, was told it required improvement by the Care Quality Commission.
The requires improvement status, given to the trust in 2021, meant that the service wasn’t performing as well as it should and the commission had told it how to improve.
In April and May this year, inspectors from the commission carried out unannounced visits – to maternity services at Furness General Hospital and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and medicine at the infirmary, plus a visit to look at the leadership and management of the organisation.
Their report will be published later today, but the trust said improvements it had made have been recognised by the commission.
The trust’s overall rating remains as requiring improvement, as does the rating for safety, effectiveness and responsiveness.
Caring remains as good and the rating for well-led has improvement from inadequate to requires improvement.
The trust said inspectors identified areas of good practice in all areas – including its commitment to further developing an open culture where patients, families and staff could raise concerns without fear.
It said the report also highlights two examples of outstanding practice in maternity services – the award-winning development of HOPE boxes for women separated from their babies either temporarily or permanently; and the multi-disciplinary approach to planning complex births that may require input from safeguarding, children’s services and mental health services.
However, inspectors found that the trust needed to improve in the following areas:
- The effectiveness and timeliness of the complaints process
- Ensure adequate numbers of midwives and clinical staff with the right skill mix in maternity services
- Pursue the plans to develop and invest in pharmacy workforce to improve performance
- Ensure there is a clear protocol for identifying women for prioritisation of induction of labour and that it is recorded in the care records
- Consistently achieve completion targets for mandatory training in all areas.
Aaron Cummins, trust chief executive, said: “This report is a very welcome sign that we are on the right path. The dedication, passion and tenacity of our colleagues has led to some significant improvements in our services over the last 18 months and I am extremely pleased that that was witnessed first-hand by the inspectors that visited our Trust earlier this year.
“We all know that the NHS has seen significant challenges recently with COVID-19 recovery, various incidences of industrial action, and increasing pressure on services. The fact that our teams have not only managed to maintain safe services during this period, but improve them, is testament to the kind of people we have working here.
“Whilst we are rightly pleased to see the improvements recognised by the inspectors, we are by no means where we need or want to be. Inspectors noted areas where we still need to improve, including taking our culture and leadership development work further, handling and responding to concerns and complaints in a more effective and responsive way, and ensuring that we see actions through to make sure we know that they are still making a positive difference in the coming weeks, months and years.
“It’s important that we take the time to fully digest the report and recognise all the good work with our teams. However, the vital thing is for us all to keep moving and pushing to be better. Progress has no finish line, and I know that our teams are dedicated to continuing to work hard to keep improving our services to be the best they can be for their patients, colleagues and our local communities.”
Following the inspection in 2021, the commission imposed conditions on the trust’s licence for stroke and maternity services at Furness General Hospital and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.
It meant teams were required to improve and correct any concerns raised by inspectors in those services – with detailed action plans and regular updates to the commission on progress.
Following this year’s inspection, the commission confirmed that all the remaining regulatory conditions had been removed, the trust said.
Professor Mike Thomas, trust chair, added: “We have an ambition to all be rated as good overall by the commission, and the progress noted in this report signals that we are heading in the right direction.
“However, we can’t and won’t slow down. There is still a lot of work to do to ensure we are a great place to be cared for and a great place to work but I believe that we have strong plans in place and the right teams to deliver them.”
