Airedale NHS Foundation Trust ‘requires improvement’

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Airedale NHS Foundation Trust as ‘requires improvement’ following an inspection in March this year.

The trust was rated as ‘requires improvement’ but the CQC recognised the good work that had taken place in the eight months since the last report.

The CQC spoke to patients, carers, stateside leads and staff, as well as external partners, during the inspection.

Bridget Fletcher, chief executive of Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are extremely pleased with the positive feedback in this report, and the fact that the inspectors saw much evidence of the enormous strides made by our teams in the eight short months since the last inspection report, a period which included the busiest winter on record for the NHS. I am proud of all of our people for working together to drive these changes, which have resulted in the majority of our services being rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’. In particular, I would like to single out our Critical Care team who have turned their service around since the last inspection, and our Frail Elderly Pathway team, which was highlighted as an example of outstanding practice.

“The report usefully highlighted some areas for improvement and we have plans in place to tackle them. Nurse staffing and recruitment, in particular, remains a national challenge, but we continue to focus on planning our future workforce, and have over the last year adopted new nursing roles such as nurse associates and apprentice healthcare support workers.

“Above all we remain positive about our trust and its future. Earlier this year we were named as one of the CHKS 40Top Hospitals for the sixth year running, and we also consistently score above the national average for our Friends and Family Test recommendation rate, which reflects the high standards of care we provide to patients. This is only possible through the continued hard work, compassion and dedication of our amazing staff who keep on delivering.

“I would like to thank local people for supporting us and choosing Airedale for their health services. We are proud to serve our community and will continue to provide the best healthcare possible to them.”