Archived: The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Updated 18 June 2018

The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides acute general hospital services for a population of around 550,000 people – that is, those living on the eastern side of Dorset and in West Hampshire, with its services commissioned by the Dorset and West Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Groups. It should be noted that the population increases significantly over the summer months, as the Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch conurbation is a popular holiday destination.

The Royal Bournemouth Hospital has approximately 600 inpatient beds and 123 day care beds. The hospital provides urgent and emergency care, medical care, surgery, critical care, end of life care, outpatient and diagnostic services.

Updated 18 June 2018

Our rating of the trust improved. We rated it as good because:

• Across the trust, we found the services we inspected to be safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led. We rated safe, effective, caring and responsive as good overall and well led to be outstanding.
• The trust had made significant improvements in all the areas we inspected. Trust leaders had taken a cultural approach to improving services, ensuring that quality improvement and continuous improvement were integral to the everyday workings of the trust.
• Patient safety was afforded sufficient priority. Staff kept patients safe from avoidable harm and abuse. When patient safety incidents occurred, the trust took a robust and systematic approach to ensuring that learning was identified and practices improved where appropriate.
• Staff followed best practice and evidence based guidance to ensure patient outcomes were good. Patient outcomes were mostly better or similar to other acute trusts when compared nationally.
• There were sufficient numbers of suitably skilled and trained staff to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Equipment and premises were fit for purpose, clean and managed well. Medicines were safely managed.
• Staff, including senior leaders, worked together and followed clear escalation protocols when the hospital was reaching capacity to ensure patient care was not unduly compromised.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect throughout the trust and trust leaders promoted a person centred culture. Patients and their relatives gave consistently positive feedback about the care they received.
• The trust was responsive to individual needs and made good provision for patients with mental health conditions and/or a learning disability.
• Services were planned in a way that ensured patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
• The trust was ranked first (highest performing) when compared against acute trusts nationally in the NHS staff survey of 2017.
• Senior leaders at the trust provided exemplary leadership to staff, ensuring staff had the right tools in place to drive improvements and innovate in their everyday work.
• Trust leaders had developed a clear mission, strategy, vision for the trust underpinned by clearly understood strategic objectives and key priorities.
• Robust governance arrangements and risk management ensured the trust could deliver against its strategic objectives.
• The trust were working collaboratively with system partners towards the transformation of services across Dorset.
• The relationship between the board and the Council of Governors had improved and board members were more responsive to challenges and concerns raised by governors.