Trust told to urgently improve safety

The Care Quality Commission has told Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to make immediate improvements to its safety and leadership.

The inspectorate has imposed urgent enforcement powers on the organisation, requiring the trust to improve the privacy, and health and safety, of patients in surgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Following inspections from November to January, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has seen its previously ‘good’ rating downgraded to ‘requires improvement’, with the CQC stating that the trust was not being well-led, pointing out a lack of expertise at board level.

As well as concerns over the John Radcliffe’s operating department, the CQC also said demand at the emergency department ‘frequently outstripped the availability of appropriate clinical spaces’ and waiting times ‘were not always meeting national standards’.

However, the inspectors also said that frontline staff care for patients with compassion and kindness, and feedback from patients about the way staff treat them is consistently positive, according to the national watchdog for health and social care.

Nigel Acheson, CQC’s Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said: “Since our last inspection, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has not sustained the momentum and imbedded the improvements that were necessary. As a result, the trust’s overall rating has moved from Good to Requires Improvement.

“We have made it clear to the trust where it must take action to improve and have placed urgent conditions on the trust’s registration to ensure these improvements do take place. We will remove those conditions when we are satisfied that the trust has made sufficient progress to provide the quality of services that its patients are entitled to expect.   

“However, I am pleased to note that the trust has a strong and engaged workforce who worked together for the benefit of patients, although it is concerning to find that some staff particularly those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act, did not always feel they were treated equitably.”

Bruno Holthof, chief executive of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "I would like to thank all staff whose compassion and kindness has quite rightly been recognised by the Care Quality Commission. Thanks to their dedication and hard work, the CQC has rated our services as 'Good' for being caring, responsive and effective.

"However, we recognise that we are only part way through a journey to improvement and this is reflected in our overall rating by the CQC as 'Requires Improvement'. We look forward to working together with our staff, patients, Foundation Trust governors and partners in the local health and social care system to continue to address those areas identified by the CQC where we know we need to do better."