England’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals has rated the services provided by Nuffield Health Cambridge Hospital as Outstanding overall following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission.
This is the first independent healthcare acute hospital to be rated Outstanding overall.
CQC carried out a comprehensive inspection at the independent hospital in Trumpington Road, Cambridge, in July 2016.
The hospital is also rated Outstanding for whether the service is caring, responsive and well-led and Good for whether the service were safe and effective.
Nuffield Health Cambridge Hospital offers a range of clinical services including orthopaedics, oncology, urology, gynaecology and ear, nose and throat (ENT), general surgery and it offers a service for children and young people.
CQC’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, said:
“Overall, Nuffield Health Cambridge Hospital provides an outstanding standard of care to the people who use its services and its management and staff should be proud of the work they do.
“Our inspectors found dedicated and caring teams who were skilled and well trained. The hospital used innovative methods of engaging with patients and we were particularly impressed with how it helped to reduce anxiety in young children who were due to undergo surgery.
“Feedback about care and treatment at the hospital was consistently positive and people were at the heart of this service. We found a number of areas of outstanding practice.
“People deserve good care and it is clear that the hard work of staff has paid off at Nuffield Health Cambridge Hospital. This is reflected in the hospital’s overall rating of Outstanding.”
Inspectors found several areas of outstanding practice, including:
- The hospital leadership team was outstanding in how they led the service and continually strived to improve the service for patients.
- We found an innovative approach to reduce anxiety in younger children with a small electric car which was used for transferring younger patients from and to theatre.
- There were systems and processes to ensure patients’ individual needs were met. This included an initiative to support patients following treatment with a 12 week integrated cancer rehabilitation programme.
- On average 98% of patients were treated within 18 weeks of referral each month.
- Patient care was at the heart of the service and there was an emphasis on supporting people emotionally and socially with the on-site Maggie’s Wallace charity.
- Feedback about the service was overwhelmingly positive with people describing their care as “amazing” and “first class.”
- The service scored in the top 10 of all Nuffield Health hospitals for patient satisfaction and positive feedback.
However, there were some areas where the provider should consider making improvements, including:
- Consider auditing the effectiveness of pain relief.
- Ensure bank staff and service staff are up to date with basic or intermediate life support training.
- Ensure there is a formal transition arrangement for patients who require end of life or palliative care pathway to be transitioned back into NHS care.
Ends
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Nuffield Health Cambridge Hospital provides an outstanding standard of care to the people who use its services and its management and staff should be proud of the work they do.
Professor Sir Mike Richards, Chief Inspector of Hospitals