Hospitals win praise following big merger
Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has been praised by England's chief inspector of hospitals, following its latest inspection.
The trust has been rated 'good' overall, following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in April and May this year.
It is also rated 'good' for being effective, responsive and well-led, 'outstanding' for caring – but was rated 'requires improvement' for its safety.
The inspection is the first since Birmingham Children’s Hospital acquired Birmingham Women’s Hospital in 2017, forming a new trust.
Birmingham Children’s Hospital was previously rated 'outstanding', while Birmingham Women’s Hospital was previously rated 'requires improvement'.
The trust’s Forward Thinking Birmingham also expanded last year to provide community mental health services to people aged 18 to 25.
Professor Ted Baker, the CQC's chief inspector of hospitals, said: "While completing a complex merger, taking on new innovative services, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust maintained an 'outstanding' rating for Birmingham Children’s Hospital. It also improved services at Birmingham Women’s Hospital and community mental health provision offered by Forward Thinking Birmingham.
Motivated
“Staff at Birmingham Children’s Hospital were highly motivated, using every interaction to promote good health. Resources were well targeted, and staff communicated innovatively to help patients and their families understand difficult situations.
“We saw areas of outstanding practice at Birmingham Women’s Hospital. Maternity services were well resourced, and staff quickly identified and escalated deteriorating patients. In neonatal services, staff worked well as a team and leaders used information effectively to anticipate future needs.
“There are still some issues for the trust to address. Some services at Birmingham Women’s Hospital were rated 'requires improvement' for safety and oversight of its diagnostic imaging was poor. Some community mental health services could not always be accessed in a timely manner."
He added: “I welcome the improvements the trust has made. The board fully recognises the issues the trust still needs to address.
"We continue to monitor the trust and will return to carry out further inspections.”
