Improvement found at Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust

England’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals has rated the services provided by Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust as ‘good’ overall following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

CQC inspected the trust between 25 and 27 July and on 9 August 2017 and found a number of improvements had been made since it was last inspected and rated ‘requires improvement’.

Several areas of outstanding practice were highlighted during the inspection, including: the geriatric emergency medicine service (GEMS) was outstanding in terms of providing awareness of and responding to the needs of patients and developing a service that provided a multi-agency approach; the emergency department (ED) worked with external organisations to develop an on-site psychiatric liaison service within the ED, 24 hours a day, seven days a week; and staff were focused on continually improving the quality of care and the patient experience.

There were also a number of areas where the trust needed to make improvements, including: continue to review and monitor discharges delayed for over eight hours in critical care and report incidents and mixed sex breaches; monitor mandatory training of staff to ensure compliance with the trust’s target including annual refresher training relating to safeguarding adults and children; and continue to monitor controlled drugs are effectively storied in outpatient areas and that fire exits are accessible at all times.

Ted Baker, CQC’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said: “When we returned to Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust we found a number of improvements had been made.

“The trust’s leadership team was well-established and staff described the leadership team as approachable, cohesive, and inclusive. Leaders had a shared purpose and strove to deliver and motivate staff to succeed.

“We witness staff who were friendly, professional, compassionate and helpful towards patients. Those patients we spoke with told us staff were caring and without exception spoke positively about the staff in all areas inspected.

“There was a whole hospital focus on patient safety and we noticed a complete change in the culture of the trust. This had resulted in significant change and improvement for the quality and safety of patient care.

“There are some areas where the trust needs to make improvements and these have been highlighted to its leadership. The trust knows what it must now do to ensure those improvements are made and we are confident that the executive team, with the support of their staff, will work to deliver these on behalf of all of their patients.

“We will return in due course to check on the progress that they have made.”