Hospital services improve but 'more work needed'

A hospital previously deemed to be providing an 'inadequate' level of services has improved, according to a follow-up inspection.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has moved York Hospital, run by York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, from an overall rating of 'inadequate' to 'requires improvement' after inspectors visited in January.

Alan Stephenson, CQC deputy director of operations for the north, said it was "positive" to see improvements had been made, but "more work was needed".

"They should continue to build on these foundations, ensure their improvements are embedded and sustained, and we'll continue to monitor them to make sure this happens," he said.

Simon Morritt, Chief Executive, York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said the improvements were "a testament to the dedication and professionalism of our staff".

"We're particularly pleased the CQC noted that most patients and their families felt treated with compassion and kindness, a reflection of the values we work hard to uphold every day," he said.

"We know there is more to do. Our focus now is on embedding the improvements we've made, strengthening leadership at every level, and creating a culture where both patients and colleagues feel safe, supported, and valued."

The inspection identified the following improvements:

• Urgent and emergency care has improved from inadequate to requires improvement, as have the ratings for being safe and responsive
• Well-led has improved from inadequate to good
• Effective and caring have improved from requires improvement to good
• Overall, medical care has been re-rated as requires improvement, as well as for being safe, effective, responsive and well-led
• Caring has been re-rated as good

However, the CQC report did raise concerns about "breaches relating to safe care and treatment, premises and equipment", and further highlighted issues around good management and staffing in medical care.

Areas that were earmarked for improvement included tackling long waiting times, and more training for staff risk-assessing people with mental health needs in urgent and emergency care services.

In medical care services, it was found that the service "did not consistently maintain the environment" to ensure it was fit for purpose, and there were issues with ensuring people's information was accurate and kept secure.

Mr Stephenson added: "When we inspected urgent and emergency care and medical care services at the York Hospital, it was positive to see that some improvements had been made since our previous inspection.

"However more work was needed across both services to improve the standard of care people were receiving."

CQC said it would continue to monitor the Trust, and has requested it submits an action plan showing what steps it will take in response to the concerns raised.

"The Trust has made some improvements, but they have more work to do to make sure people are safer and leadership continues to improve, as we know that better leaders mean better care," the inspection report concluded.

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