Disappointing decline in CQC rating for Dudley Group

The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust has been rated as Requires Improvement following inspections into five core services by the Care Quality Commission.

Operating acute hospital services from three hospital sites at Russells Hall hospital, Corbett Outpatient Centre and Guest Outpatient Centre, the CQC rated services as Requires Improvement regarding whether they were safe, effective, responsive and well-led. It found care by staff to be Good.

Professor Ted Baker, Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said: “Our inspectors were disappointed that several ratings at The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust had declined since we last inspected. Our main concerns were with what we found in the urgent and emergency services, which we rated as Inadequate overall. The trust as a whole also needs to ensure appropriate staffing levels are maintained and to keep bank and agency staff cover to a minimum. The trust leadership knows what it needs to do to bring about the necessary improvements and we will return to check on progress.”

Diane Wake, chief executive at the trust, said: “It is pleasing to see the inspectors found our services to be caring overall, rating the care given as good; however, disappointing that our trust rating remains requires improvement. We are particularly disappointed that our Emergency Department has been rated inadequate, especially given how hard our staff have worked in very challenging times.
“We absolutely recognise there is work to do to ensure our services are the best they can be for our patients and we are supporting our staff to make the improvements we need to ensure safe, effective, responsive and well-led services.”