Staff at Sutton Coldfield hospital have improved services and should be ‘encouraged’ by what inspectors saw – but many sectors still ‘require improvement’
Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield with the A&E department to the right, near the hospital’s entrance(Image: SWNS)
A hospital watchdog has issued a major update for a Birmingham hospital after it was ordered to make ‘rapid improvements’ earlier this year.
The Care Quality Commission, CQC, found improvements in four services at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield, following inspections in February and March.
Leaders were told they should feel “encouraged” by what inspectors saw during the latest review of services – which found “many areas of good practice.” However areas are still rated ‘requires improvement’ and services “needed change,” the report states.
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Inspectors looked at maternity, medical care, services for children and young people, and urgent and emergency services at Good Hope Hospital, which is run by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.
While several areas had made good progress from “inadequate”, many were ranked as “requires improvement” in the latest inspection. It comes amid staff challenges, including “high demand and pressure” reflected across the healthcare system, the report says.
One breach of regulation related to person centred care in medical care, three breaches related to safe care and treatment in medical care, maternity, and in urgent and emergency services due to crowding and poor patient flow were uncovered. CQC also found one breach related to good governance in maternity.
CQC has told the trust to submit an action plan showing “what action it is taking in response to these concerns.”
The overall rating, and the ratings for how effective, caring, responsive and well-led the service is, are good. Leadership in the medical care service, and of the service in general, are also now rated good.
“During our inspection at Good Hope Hospital, we found leaders had improved their management of services leading to people experiencing care that better reflected their needs,” Amanda Lyndon, CQC deputy director of operations in the midlands, said.
Good Hope Hospital(Image: Harry Leach / BirminghamLive)
“The trust took a proactive approach to using learning and improving services, which was embedded across the areas we inspected. However, the trust has more work to do to make sure that people are being kept safe and staff have the tools they need to provide consistent support.”
People and their families were said to have had “positive experiences” receiving support from maternity services and felt comfortable raising concerns.
“However, it was clear that the service needed change, with delays in treatment, management of risk, and staffing levels affecting the quality of care,” she added. “Children, young people and their families spoke positively about their experiences and care. Our inspectors saw staff treating people with dignity and compassion, and staff took a positive approach to learning and making improvements. However, staff didn’t manage some risks to children.
Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield(Image: BPM MEDIA)
“Leaders didn’t always ensure there was a safe level of staffing, and staff needed to improve how they managed medicines. “In medical care, the improvements in leadership are reflected in the service’s new well-led rating.
“Leaders were now more supportive and visible to staff, and fostered a better culture in the service which in turn had a positive impact on people’s care.
“However, leaders need to make sure staff get all the training they need to support people effectively. Staff needed to record information about people’s decisions on their care more effectively. They also needed to ensure they managed medicines safely. She continued: “The trust had improved the leadership and culture of urgent and emergency care services.
“Staff continued to face challenges because of the high demand and pressure across the whole health and care system, but the trust had still made progress through improvements they had implemented. “Overall, staff, leaders and people using services at Good Hope Hospital should be encouraged by the improvements we saw. We found many areas of good practice, and leaders should build on this by continuing to make improvements in the areas we have told them to.”
- The overall rating for maternity has again been rated as requires improvement
- The rating for how well-led the maternity service is has improved from inadequate to requires improvement
- The overall rating for medical care has improved from inadequate to requires improvement
- How well-led the medical care service is has improved from inadequate to good
- This was the first time CQC has inspected children and young people’s services at Good Hope Hospital
- The overall rating, and the ratings for how effective, caring, responsive and well-led the service is, are good
- How safe the service is has been rated requires improvement
- The overall rating for urgent and emergency care, and the rating for how safe the service is, have improved from inadequate to requires improvement
- How well-led the service is has improved from inadequate to good
As CQC hasn’t inspected every service area since Good Hope Hospital has been run by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, there isn’t an overall rating for the hospital.
Simon Jarvis, Good Hope Hospital Executive Director, said: “This latest report from the CQC shows the dedication of our colleagues to making real, lasting improvements for our patients.
“While we recognise there is more work ahead, it’s encouraging to see progress reflected in the CQC’s findings. At Good Hope Hospital, and across University Hospitals Birmingham, we are all committed to building on this momentum and delivering safe, high-quality and compassionate care across all services.”