Inspectors praise RD&E
The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) inspection report published today (9 February) follows the planned inspection of the RD&E conducted last year. The CQC’s team of nearly 50 inspectors visited the RD&E last November speaking to more than 300 staff, and dozens of patients, carers and relatives and visiting clinical areas of the Trust.
The report praises the Trust’s culture as “strongly focused on quality and safety with patients being the absolute priority”. The report goes on to say this was a “consistent theme in the feedback from staff at all levels”. Seven out of eight services at the Wonford Hospital were rated as either outstanding or good.
Overall the Trust was judged as “Outstanding” for caring. The report states that staff ensured “people had a good experience and were able to be involved in their care while receiving support for their needs and those of their families and carers”. The report cites a range of outstanding examples of compassionate care being delivered by Trust staff (see notes below).
The inspection team were particularly impressed by the care and effectiveness which patients with serious life-threatening injuries and illnesses receive in our Emergency Department and Critical Care Unit. Both were rated as “Outstanding”. The report states, “the care provided by staff in the critical care unit went above and beyond the day-to-day expectations [and] patients and visitors gave overwhelmingly positive feedback”. Only four Trusts nationally achieve an outstanding rating by the CQC for emergency services and 7 for critical care.
Chief Executive Angela Pedder said: “We are delighted to receive this confirmation of the outstanding and good care our staff across the Trust deliver for the people who use our services.
“It is a particular pleasure that we have been judged to be outstanding for caring as this goes to the heart of our mission to provide compassionate care delivered with courtesy and respect. Our staff are outstanding and deliver exemplary care day in day out - on occasions in very trying and challenging circumstances.
“Outstanding care is delivered by teams of nurses, doctors, scientists, therapists, hotel services, estates and clerical staff all working together to provide the best care possible to our patients. All of these staff groups are led and supported to deliver this outstanding care by our excellent clinical, specialist and general managers.
“Our patients and the people who live in the communities we serve across Exeter, Mid and East Devon, and people from North Devon, Torbay and Somerset who use the more specialist services we offer have a right to receive good and outstanding care. The CQC report confirms that is what they receive at the RD&E.”
Areas of outstanding practice identified include:
- Survival rates for patients who have suffered a cardiac arrest are double the national average
- There have been no “never events” for 3 years.
- There have been no cases of MRSA for almost 5 years
- Outcomes for patients were all good or outstanding
- The Trust is one of only three acute Trust nationally to have met the gold standards framework for end of life care
- Good and outstanding leadership
Chairman James Brent said: “I am proud that the RD&E has been recognised for the exceptional care, Urgent and Emergency and Critical Care Services that it provides to its patients. I would like to thank each and every member of staff for the work they do to give the very best for the people in our care. ”
