QVH has been rated ‘good’ by Care Quality Commission (CQC) hospital inspectors. They found that patient care at the hospital was outstanding and that safety was good. The ratings were published today (Tuesday 26 April 2024) following a comprehensive routine inspection in November 2015.
The inspectors found compassionate and considerate care throughout the hospital with numerous examples of staff going above and beyond what would be expected. The CQC reported that QVH staff have a clear culture of compassion and an exceptionally strong awareness and empathy with patients, with excellent emotional support for both patients and carers.
Inspectors found that patient safety was good, with safe nursing levels and a culture of openness. The hospital was clean, with a good environment, although some on-going redecoration and minor maintenance is required in some areas.
In addition to patient care overall, the inspectors found many other examples of outstanding practice at QVH including:
* care for people with dementia
* the burns telemedicine and outreach services
* the use of audit to improve care
* psychological aftercare for patients
* the prosthetics service
* the way care is organised for head and neck patients.
The inspectors found that staff felt valued and able to deliver individual and compassionate care to their patients. Staff had been consulted on and could describe the hospital’s plans and strategies for the future. Leaders in the organisation had a high profile and were accessible to staff.
The CQC did find that aspects of the intensive care service required improvement. However, they did not issue any ‘notices’ requiring immediate changes in intensive care, indicating that they felt current services were acceptable so long as QVH implements plans for further improvement. As a small, specialist trust, QVH does not have access to the full range of specialist expertise and out of hours cover available at larger hospitals. As a result it has been working closely with neighbouring trusts over recent years to access their expertise where needed.
The inspectors recognised that QVH had been very open with them in advance about the challenges in intensive care and that substantial work had already been undertaken to ensure that the hospital is able to care safely for the patients that are admitted. QVH will be continuing to work with the CQC and partners across the NHS to ensure that the necessary improvements are made.
CQC’s chief inspector of hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, said: “When we inspected QVH, we saw some excellent practice. We saw that staff were incredibly caring and compassionate in their dealings with patients, and patients praised the care that they received with areas of the care found to be outstanding."
Richard Tyler, QVH chief executive, said: “We are delighted to get this seal of approval as a safe and well-led hospital offering outstanding care. Our staff are committed to providing expert and compassionate care and should be rightly proud to have this recognised by the inspectors.”
The CQC undertook the routine inspection on 11 and 12 November 2016, with an unannounced follow-up visit on 23 November. The inspection team included a mixture of CQC inspectors, a wide range of independent clinicians and expert patients. In addition to visiting the hospital and speaking with patients and staff, the inspection team reviewed a wide range of documents and evidence and held staff focus groups and a public meeting.
The CQC report is available at http://www.cqc.org.uk/location/RPC04
Last updated on 26 April 2016.
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