WIREDGOV

Chief Inspector of Hospitals publishes report on the quality of care provided by Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust.

England's Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, has published his first report on the quality of care provided by Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust.

In general, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection found that Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust provided safe care and had effective leadership across all services.

Most patients received good care and treatment across the trust and staff were dedicated and compassionate.

However, the regulator has told the trust it must improve in certain areas. Reports relating to the services inspected are published on CQC’s website and are available here.

This is one of the first reports of its kind on health services provided in the community and is the result of a new-style inspection by larger teams that include specialist nurses and therapists as well as people who use services.

Inspectors looked at a range of services provided by Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust, including community nursing and therapies, urgent care, rehabilitation, older people’s mental health, learning disability services, children’s services, dental services, outpatients and day case surgery.

CQC found a number of areas of good practice.

• CQC received positive feedback from patients about the compassion and empathy of staff. Patients were routinely included in their care plans and decision making was personalised to meet their short and long term needs. Patients’ medical, emotional and social needs were identified and incorporated into care planning.
• Staff demonstrated excellent commitment in providing the best care they could and strived to put the patient’s needs at the centre of their care. For example, inpatient staff developed a range of activities designed to help patients regain their independence.

CQC also found some areas for improvement at the trust.

• In three hospitals there were isolated areas where essential standards were not being met in respect of the safe disposal of medicines, care planning, considering people’s consent and the safety of equipment.

CQC has asked the trust to send us a report that says what action they are going to take to meet these essential standards.

Professor Sir Mike Richards, Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said: “This was one of the first inspections where we have looked at such a wide range of services in the community. On all of our inspections, inspectors ask whether a service is safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs, and well-led.

“We found Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust to be generally safe for patients. Most services were effectively meeting the needs of patients, families and carers.

“Feedback gave us confidence that most services were run effectively and we found that staff worked extremely hard to meet people’s individual needs. We saw some excellent examples of good teamwork, innovative approaches being implemented and a positive working culture.

“Overall, services were well-led, with staff feeling well supported and showing a commitment to the values of the trust. I am pleased to see that this was reinforced by a visible leadership who help to motivate staff...;

Alongside a report on Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust as a whole, CQC is publishing individual reports on Headquarters, Ash Green Hospital, Babington Hospital, Bolsover Hospital, Cavendish Hospital, Clay Cross Hospital, Ilkeston Hospital, Newholme Hospital, Ripley Hospital, St Oswalds Hospital, Walton Hospital and Whitworth Hospital.

Ends

For media enquiries, contact regional communications officer, Louise Grifferty, regional communications manager, or email louise.grifferty@cqc.org.uk. Alternatively, the CQC press office is also available on 020 7448 9401 during office hours or out of hours on 07917 232 143.

For general enquiries, call 03000 61 61 61.

Notes to editors

The Care Quality Commission has already presented its findings relating to Derbyshire Community Services NHS Community Services NHS Trust to a local Quality Summit, including NHS commissioners, providers, regulators and other public bodies. The purpose of the Quality Summit is to develop a plan of action and recommendations based on the inspection team’s findings.
 

About the Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England.

We make sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and we encourage care services to improve.

We monitor, inspect and regulate services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety and we publish what we find to help people choose care.