Princess Alexandra to come out of special measures

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has recommended that The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust exits special measures following a number of improvements at the trust.

The trust was rated Inadequate overall and placed into special measures following an inspection in June 2016, but the CQC has since reported that it is now rated as Requires Improvement overall and is recommending the trust now exits special measures.

Inspectors looked at six core areas during a visit in December, noting some ‘outstanding practice’ in children's services, citing nurse-led discharges in the neo-natal unit. A disposal and recycling system for medication in the critical care unit, which saved the hospital £1,200 in a month, was also praised.

Lance McCarthy, the chief executive of the trust who also turned around the fortunes of Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire, said: “People have worked tremendously hard over the past twelve months to deliver major improvements in quality across our hospital services. These efforts are reflected in our triple achievement of 'Good' in the areas of 'Effective', 'Caring' and 'Well-Led', which is fantastic news for patients and the people who work here. The removal of the trust from 'special measures' is something that I'm sure people will be celebrating today. I am enormously proud of everyone and have personally thanked our staff and volunteers across the Trust today. Together we have shown that we've got what it takes to make this trust outstanding.”

Ted Baker, CQC’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said: “Our return to The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust showed significant improvement had taken place. This is reflected in the trust’s new rating - which has improved from Inadequate to Requires Improvement overall - and our recommendation to NHS Improvement that the trust now comes out of special measures."

“However, this trust has to ensure it continues and consolidates this work and makes further changes so that people receive the care they should be able to expect. We have given feedback to the trust on where it needs to make improvements and we will return to check on its progress. The trust’s staff and leadership should be proud of their achievement so far and they know what they must do to ensure any remaining improvements are made.”