Homerton University Hospital, Hackney, rated as Good by CQC’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals following inspection
24 Apr 2014 02:51 PM
England's Chief
Inspector of Hospitals has published his first report on the services provided
by Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust at Homerton University
Hospital, in Hackney, east London
CQC rated the hospital as Good
with an Outstanding Accident and Emergency (A&E) department. Staff told
inspectors that they felt valued and enjoyed working in the hospital, and
patients told inspectors that they felt cared for and had faith in the staff
looking after them.
Inspectors found that the
A&E – the first to be rated as Outstanding by CQC under its new
ratings system – was safe, effective, caring, responsive to
people’s needs and well led. The department had consistently met the
government’s 95% target for admitting, transferring or discharging
patients within four hours since April 2013, and initiatives were in place to
ensure patients were seen in a timely way.
Inspectors observed staff taking
the time to listen to patients and explain to them what was wrong and any
treatment needed. Patients told inspectors they had all their questions
answered and felt involved in making decisions about their care. Staff told
inspectors they were proud to work in the department.
The hospital had initiatives in
place to reduce the number of people attending A&E. The role of a
non-clinical ‘navigator’ had been introduced to support patients
attending the Primary Urgent Care Centre to locate and register with their
local GP so they could have their primary medical needs met in the community.
There was also a team that identified the support needs of people who attended
A&E on a regular basis, so these could also be met in the
community.
All other services inspected
across the hospital were rated as Good, and inspectors found a number of other
areas of good practice, including:
- The elderly care unit had
dementia care assistants to support patients.
- The palliative care nursing team
and the bereavement team provided a supportive service that was that was well
known to medical, nursing and therapy staff. Staff working on the medical wards
told inspectors how their own knowledge and practice had been improved by the
confidence and competence of individuals within these teams.
- The pharmacy department was
involved in joint working with London Ambulance Service and the Hackney
Clinical Commissioning Groups to introduce ‘green bags’ so that
patients’ own drugs could be brought into hospital safely and transferred
safely.
- Access to maternity services was
also provided through a maternity telephone helpline that was available from
10am till 6pm, seven days a week. This was staffed by experienced midwives who
had specific training about domestic violence, confidentiality, and handling
difficult and emotional calls.
- The outpatients’ service
used technology to ensure patients’ relatives and carers could be
involved in their care. A clinic appointment had been organised so that a close
relative could join the consultation from another country via
Skype.
CQC has also told the trust that
it must make improvements in a number of areas including:
- Ensuring that at all times there
are enough suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff employed on the
medical wards.
- Ensuring that patient records
are always accurate and include appropriate information and documents in
relation to the care and treatment planned and provided.
- Ensuring that patients and/or
their relatives are involved in ‘do not attempt cardiopulmonary
resuscitation’ decisions and that these decisions are adequately
documented.
CQC’s Chief Inspector of
Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, said:
“We identified a great
deal of good practice at Homerton University Hospital – most notably in
the A&E, the first to be rated as Outstanding after one of our new style
inspections. I am sure that other hospitals might benefit by looking at what
this trust is doing to try to reduce A&E attendances when people would be
better off receiving treatment or care within the community.
“We’ve rated
Homerton University Hospital as Good overall. Staff told us that that they felt
valued and enjoyed their work, and patients told inspectors that they felt
cared for and had faith in staff.
“Despite our findings
being generally positive, there were some areas in which we’ve told the
trust it must make some changes – most notably in ensuring there are
always enough staff on duty on the medical wards. The trust has told us they
will take action – and we’ll return in due course to check that
these changes have been made.”
An inspection team which
included doctors, nurses, hospital managers, trained members of the public, CQC
inspectors and analysts carried out an announced inspection visit in February.
They examined the care provided in A&E, medical care (including older
people’s care), surgery, intensive/critical care, maternity,
children’s care, end of life care and outpatients.
Inspectors also visited the
hospital unannounced as part of the inspection, held focus groups with staff,
and held a public listening event. The report which CQC publishes today is
based on a combination of their findings, information from CQC’s
Intelligent Monitoring system, and information provided by patients, the public
and other organisations.
CQC inspectors will return to
Homerton University Hospital in due course as part of its regulatory
programme.
Ends
For media enquiries, call the
CQC press office 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 Chief Inspector of
Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, is leading significantly larger
inspection teams than before, headed up by clinical and other experts including
trained members of the public. By the end of 2015, CQC will have inspected all
acute NHS Trusts in the country with its new inspection model. Whenever CQC
inspects it will always ask the following five questions of every service: Is
it safe? Is it effective? Is it caring? Is it responsive to people’s
needs? Is it well-led?
The Care Quality Commission has
already presented its findings 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.