02 March 2017
UH Bristol announced as outstanding
University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust announced as
one of the highest-rated NHS trusts in the country
University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (UH Bristol)
has been rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC)
following an inspection in November 2016; becoming the first Trust
in the country to go from Requires Improvement to Outstanding
between two inspections.
Staff at UH Bristol have been praised for driving improvement
for patients by the Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir
Mike Richards, who also said "the hard work has paid off in making
a real difference to the lives of people using the services, in the
immediate Bristol area and in the wider South West in general."
Robert Woolley, chief executive of UH Bristol, said: "We are
delighted to share these findings of the latest CQC inspection of
our Trust.
"We are the sixth acute Trust to receive this rating but the
first in the country to make the transition from Requires
Improvement to Outstanding between two inspections and in only two
years. The CQC saw that we have taken clear action to address those
areas of weakness they identified in our last inspection in 2014,
but they also saw real examples of innovation and strength in all
areas.
"We will continue to listen to the concerns and suggestions of
staff and patients alike, we remain committed to keep learning and
we will make sure we tackle those areas for improvement which the
CQC have found. But the people of Bristol and beyond can have pride
and confidence in the skills and dedication of our staff who the
CQC saw were committed to providing not just the best clinical care
but doing so with real kindness and compassion, bringing to life
our Trust values and confirming that every single one of us is
proud to care."
The focus of this inspection was on services previously rated as
requires improvement: surgery; medical care; and outpatients and
diagnostics. Inspectors also looked at urgent and emergency care.
However, the overall rating includes service rated in the Trust's
previous inspection back in 2014.
Overall, inspectors identified a number of areas of outstanding
practice, including:
• In times of crowding the emergency department was able to call
upon pre-identified nursing staff from the wards to work in the
department. This enabled nurses to be released to safely manage
patients queueing in the corridor.
• New starters in the emergency department received a
comprehensive, structured induction and orientation programme,
overseen by a clinical nurse educator and practice development
nurse. This provided new staff with an exceptionally good
understanding of their role in the department and ensured they were
able to perform their role safely and effectively.
• Staff in the teenagers and young adult cancer service
continually developed the service, and sought funding and support
from charities and organisations, in order to make demonstrable
improvements to the quality of the service and to the lives of
patients diagnosed with cancer.
• There was a focus on leadership development at all levels in
order to support the culture and development of the trust.
• There was a use of innovation and research to improve patient
outcomes and reduce length of stay and the use of a discrete
flagging system to highlight those patients who had additional
needs.
• The trust introduced a drop in chest pain clinic to improve
patient attendance.
Please see the report here.
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