The ‘Good’ rating for end of life and community health services represents a significant improvement as both services were previously rated as inadequate at a CQC inspection in 2015.
Neil Carr, Chief Executive of MPFT said; “This is a great outcome for the people of Staffordshire who use our services and I am delighted that the CQC has recognised the significant improvements made. This is testament to the commitment and dedication of staff who have worked extremely hard to ensure they provide high quality, caring services.”
The CQC inspectors noted:
We observed caring and compassionate interactions between patients and we saw that staff were consistently respectful and kind. Patients received care and treatment that was evidence based and met best practice guidelines. (Community Health Service)
We heard unanimous positive feedback from the patients and relatives we spoke with. They were ‘full of praise and thanks’ for the support they received from the palliative care and end of life teams. (End of Life Care)
The inspectors also commented on some specific areas of good practice, including a District Nurse Caseload Review Tool which has created a standardised approach to reviewing district nurse caseloads. The tool was awarded first prize and praised for its innovative approach at the Queen’s Nursing Institute Annual Conference in October 2017 and was the winner of a 2018 Health Service Journal Values Award.
The CQC also recognised the value of the Home First Model which ensures that a person receives appropriate and timely assessment, to meet all palliative and end of life needs in a person centred manner.
The CQC highlighted some areas requiring improvement, and Neil Carr commented:
“We value the fresh perspective an external assessment brings to our organisation and we recognise that there will always be areas where we need to improve. We have already put plans in place to act on the issues that the inspectors raised and will continue to look for ways in which we can make our services even better”.
Links to Quality Reports:
End of Life Care: https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/new_reports/AAAH3456.pdf
Community Health Services for Adults: https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/new_reports/AAAH3455.pdf