Walsall health trust STILL in special measures despite improvements

The Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust was rated as inadequate in September 2015 and despite inspectors finding significant improvements during three days of inspection this year, leading to the trust now being rated as requires improvement, it will remain in special measures.

The trust is now rated as Requires Improvement overall as well as for whether services are safe, effective, responsive and well-led.

The trust is rated as good for whether the services provided were caring, while its community health services were given a rating of outstanding.

Departing chief executive Richard Kirby, who will move to the Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHC) in the new year, praised staff for their work in response to the 2015 inspection and said he was confident improvements would continue when he leaves.

Mr Kirby said: "I have to thank every member of staff who has contributed to our improved rating, it is not myself or the leaders of this trust who have made the change, it is them.

"I feel we have brought in a real culture change and from the moment we received our inadequate rating I knew this would be a five year project to become good or outstanding and I think we are on track.

"My successor is actively being recruited and I am confident that the progress we have made will be built on.

“We know we still have lots more to do to deliver our vision.

"The next steps in our improvement journey include improving maternity services, embedding our new clinically-led way of working and ensuring that all our services are providing sustainably high quality care.”

Report

The CQC's report on the trust stated that 'the culture within the outpatients department had changed considerably for the better and staff took responsibility and ownership for their own areas and specialities'.

However, it also stated that 'risks must be explained when obtaining consent from women for procedures in maternity and gynaecology'.

Maternity is one area which the trust has repeatedly had trouble with, which led to a birthing cap had being imposed at the Moat Road site earlier this year limiting deliveries to 4,200 a year from nearly 5,000 and an eight week closure of the midwifery-led unit due to staff shortages in June.

CQC’s chief inspector of hospitals, Professor Ted Baker, said that the trust would remain in special measures so it can continue to receive help to make improvements in key areas.

He said: “When we inspected Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust we found a number of improvements had been made since our last inspection, but that further work was needed.

“During our inspection we highlighted concerns regarding the trust’s maternity services and, as a result, the trust was issued with a warning.

"This required the trust to make improvements within a set timescale and it supplied an action plan detailing its plans for ensuring improvements are made to the service.

“We also found a number of areas of good and outstanding practice at the trust.

“We were particularly impressed with community health services which we have rated as Outstanding overall.

"The staff in this area are to be commended for their hard word in achieving this.

“While it was clear improvements had been made, I am recommending the trust remains in special measures so it can continue its work in making improvements to its services with support.

“The trust knows what it must now do to deliver the necessary improvements on behalf of all of their patients and we will return to check on the progress that they make.”

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Responding to the publication of the CQC report today (Wednesday) Kathy McLean, executive medical director at NHS Improvement, said: “We are pleased with the improvements in quality the trust has made since the last CQC inspection, now with a ‘Requires Improvement’ rating overall.

"This is clear progress, and staff can be justifiably proud of their achievement in gaining an outstanding rating for community services.

In response to concerns over maternity services, the Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust deputy clinical director, Mr James Davis said:  “We know that we still have challenges to address in maternity services where the pace of change was not initially as swift as in other areas of the Trust.

"The establishment of the new leadership team took longer than anticipated, but there are clear signs of the improvements that we want to continue to embed."