The Health and Care Regulator has recommended that Morecambe Bay's hospitals should be taken out of special measures.
The latest Inspection Report from the Care Quality Commission - published today, says that the UHMBT has made progress in all areas it said needed to improve after an inspection in February last year.
CQC inspectors say the Trust is no longer rated as 'inadequate', and says that “staff were caring and compassionate, and treated people with dignity and respect.”
The Trust now has a new rating of ‘requires improvement’, with all services rated as ‘good’.
As a result of the recent inspection process, Professor Sir Mike Richards, CQC’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals, has recommended to health sector regulator Monitor that the Trust be taken out of special measures.
The CQC visited the three main hospitals run by the Trust - Furness General Hospital, Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Westmorland General Hospital - during July this year, where inspectors reported improvements in leadership, staffing levels, governance, incident reporting, and risk management.
The Report acknowledged that “The Trust had made progress in all the areas we [CQC] identified in our inspection in February 2014”.
Jackie Daniel, UHMBT's Chief Executive, said: “I am very pleased that the CQC has recognised the progress that has been made since our last inspection, particularly that progress has been made in every area that they previously highlighted as requiring further action.
“The improved rating and recommendation for the Trust to come out of special measures is testament to the hard work and commitment of an incredibly loyal workforce. Our staff, along with our governors, partners, volunteers and the public have worked hard together to make the change needed, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their continued support.
“We have a talented and professional workforce and the rating of ‘good’ for being ‘caring’ is recognition of this. Over the last year we have seen many successes, including staff and teams shortlisted for, and winning national awards.
But, we mustn’t be complacent; we still have a lot of work to do to ensure we provide consistently high standards of care across all of our services. We must continue to seek out every opportunity to make improvements to achieve our ambition of being an ‘outstanding’ Trust.”
One particular area singled out for improving was the High Dependency Unit at Furness General Hospital, with the CQC reporting that previous staffing issues in this area had been “comprehensively addressed, and there was sufficient staffing numbers of nurses to meet the needs of patients at all times.”
In recommending that the Trust is taken out of special measures, Professor Sir Mike Richards says in the Report: “It is apparent that the trust is on a journey of improvement and progress is being made both clinically and in the trust’s governance structures.”
The Report also highlighted a number of areas where further work is needed to meet required standards, and the Trust has already begun to address these.
The Trust’s Quality Improvement Strategy will include actions and outcomes against every area the CQC has reported that “must” and “should” improve, ensuring that they become embedded in day to day work.
CQC has identified seven areas for further improvements, they have stated these as the following:
- The trust must ensure that all premises are suitable for the purpose for which they are being used and properly maintained - particularly physiotherapy services and medical care services provided from Medical Unit One.
- Enough suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced people must be deployed to meet the needs of the patients. Staff should receive appropriate support, training and appraisal.
- The trust must ensure that staff understand their responsibilities under, and act in accordance with, the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and associated code of practice.
- Staff must follow policies and procedures around managing medicines, including intravenous fluids particularly in medical care services and critical care services.
- Referral to treatment times in surgical specialities must improve.
- The trust must ensure that the resuscitation trolleys on the children’s ward are situated in areas that make them easily accessible in an emergency. All staff must be clear on who has responsibility for the maintenance of the resuscitation trolley on the delivery suite.
- The trust must ensure that it maintains an accurate, complete and contemporaneous record for each patient.
The Trust is required to submit a comprehensive action plan to the CQC by 27 December 2015. This plan will be regularly updated and displayed on the Trust’s website.
Updates regarding the Trust’s work to address the recommendations of the Report of the Morecambe Bay Investigation (Kirkup Report) are published every month on this website, and the Trust’s website itself.
Chair, Pearse Butler, said: “Everyone has pulled together at all levels of the Trust to make continued improvement, which has not only resulted in an improved rating, but also the recommendation that the Trust should come out of special measures.
“I agree with the comments of Professor Sir Mike Richards, Chief Inspector of Hospitals when he says that the Trust is on a journey of improvement and that progress is being made both clinically and in the Trust’s governance structures.
"There is still a lot more hard work required to make further, sustainable change across our hospitals, and today’s report is recognition that good progress is being made and that we are heading in the right direction.
“I am extremely proud of how our staff, volunteers, governors and partners have worked together as a team to achieve these results. It puts us in a good position as we progress towards achieving even greater results and delivering our new clinical strategy - Better Care Together.”
Morecambe MP David Morris added: "This is fantastic news for all at the Trust, and shows that the hard work and determination by the staff has paid off. I am pleased that I have been able to work with the management of the Trust in such a positive way over the past few years and have always found them to be committed to turning the hospital around.
"I visit the hospital regularly and I have personally seen vast improvements in service delivery and also morale of the staff. It is also noticed too in my email inbox as the number of complaints about services has drastically fell in the last year.
"I am really proud of all the staff at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary for their dedication to patient care and I am confident that the staff in charge of the Trust have more plans to further improve services.
"Turning around a Trust such as this one isn’t easy, but I have full faith in the management team that they know where the Trust needs to be to become a centre of excellence in our area for the future".