Leaders at a Sussex health center trust said they ‘understand the challenges’ after the latest assessment report was released.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has actually devalued the general ranking of University Hospital Sussex NHS Foundation Trust from exceptional to needs enhancement. It follows an examination in between October and December ‘showed a decline in the care’ being provided to individuals ‘across several key areas’.
In action, health center leaders at the trust said: “We understand the challenges, we have made significant progress already, and we know there’s much more to do.”
The CQC report associates with 7 examinations at the trust over an 18-month duration – the most recent of which was simply over seven-months back, and took a look at the ‘well-led’ domain. The trust’s general ranking has actually been altered from exceptional to needs enhancement, while the ‘well-led’ domain was decreased to insufficient.
UHSussex president Dr George Findlay identified that, ‘like all NHS organisations’, the trust ‘needs to improve’ as it deals with ‘challenges around staffing, fast-growing need for hospital services and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic’.
He likewise highlighted the ‘significant positive changes’ that have actually occurred both prior to and because the latest CQC assessment in October 2022 – ‘including huge investment in better facilities, a new leadership structure, recruitment at all levels and a big effort to encourage a more open culture’.
Dr Findlay said: “When I took up this role just under a year ago, I commissioned an external review to give me a clear picture of where we stood as a newly formed trust – our strengths and our weaknesses. This review, and our improvement plans were shared with the CQC at the time of our well-led inspection.
“Everything the CQC is saying now chimes with what we already knew, and had committed to addressing right from the start.
“I’m extremely proud of the huge strides that colleagues have made, but we all recognise how much work still lies ahead. The seven months since this inspection have seen rapid progress – now we need to push on again.”
The University Hospital Sussex NHS Foundation Trust is accountable for 7 medical facilities in Sussex; Worthing Hospital; St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester; Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath; Southlands Hospital in Shoreham-by-Sea in addition to the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and Sussex Eye Hospital – all in Brighton and Hove.
The assessment was ‘in part prompted by whistleblowing concerns from staff’, a CQC representative said.
Deanna Westwood, CQC’s director of operations in the south, said the assessment was performed ‘in response to concerns raised with us around culture and leadership’. She said staff and individuals utilizing services ‘were being let down by senior leaders’, including: “Staff informed us they felt not able to raise issues without worry of reprisal.”
The trust highlighted a variety of enhancements made throughout Dr Findlay’s very first year as president. These consisted of:
– A brand-new management advancement program to support leaders throughout the trust;
– A brand-new medical design to provide strong management to medical departments and private health center websites;
– Trust-broad concentrate on making it much easier for individuals to speak out and raise issues, consisting of more powerful assistance for the Freedom to Speak Up service;
– Results from the confidential month-to-month ‘Pulse’ staff study reveal more individuals now feel great that the trust would act on issues that were raised – up from 49 percent in September 2022 to 58 percent in March 2023, ‘closing in on the very best-performing trusts nationally’;
– £120m invested throughout all health center websites (above and beyond the £500m Louisa Martindale Building and prepared £48m redevelopment of A&E in Brighton);
– Weekly, structured sessions with frontline staff including the entire executive group, and several executive staff member spending quality time with frontline groups, every day
The trust said there has actually likewise been ‘strong progress in patient care’, consisting of:
– A substantial decrease in the variety of individuals dealing with the longest waits on treatment – ‘now only just over 250 people’;
– Ambulance hold-ups of an hour or more to 3.2 percent, from 9 percent at the end of 2022;
– Waits of more than 6 weeks for diagnostics down by almost a 3rd because late 2022;
– Strengthening efficiency for cancer waiting times, both for medical diagnosis, and treatment.
The CQC group checking out in 2022 likewise concluded that brand-new techniques would ‘improve quality for patients and staff’; that the ‘majority of leaders’ had the experience, capability and ability ‘to lead effectively’; most clients applauded the care, treatment and assistance they received; the executive group had a suitable series of abilities, understanding and experience and the brand-new operating design ‘appeared to provide clear structures and evidenced multi-disciplinary leadership’ throughout health center websites and departments.
Dr Findlay said: “Right from my first day, the focus has been on facing up to our problems and giving our amazing staff the tools and support they need to do their jobs. None of the issues raised in this report are new to us, and that is why we were already addressing them.
“Much has changed since the CQC team was here, and that progress makes me confident for the future – delivering NHS care at the moment is really tough, making improvements is tough, but we have the plans and the people in place to do that.”
In neurosurgery, services inspectors found:
– The service did not have enough staff to care for people and keep them safe;
– Staff did not always feel respected, supported and valued;
– Staff did not always work well together for the benefit of people;
– Some consultants did not engage with people using services including sharing information regarding their medical conditions;
– The environment and availability of equipment did not always support safe and effective care and treatment. For example, there were incidents of surgery being delayed due to a lack of imaging equipment.
