The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated the services provided by The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to be Outstanding for a second time.
A team of CQC inspectors visited the trust between 15 January and 28 February 2019 to assess four core services: urgent and emergency services, end of life care, diagnostic imaging and community end of life care. They also looked specifically at management and leadership to answer the key question: Is the trust well-led?
The trust had previously been rated Outstanding in June 2016. At this inspection the trust maintained its overall rating of Outstanding. It also sustained its previous ratings of Outstanding for being effective, caring, responsive and well-led and Good for being safe.
The full report, including ratings, is available at: www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RTD
Inspectors found compassionate, approachable and knowledgeable leadership, who were visible and often visited staff. There was an inspiring shared purpose and collaboration between leadership and frontline staff, helping promote health and wellbeing, encouraging positive experiences for the people who used services. The trust invited constructive challenge from people and local stakeholders, to review the quality of the service provided and further tailor it to the needs of the local population.
Inspectors rated the management and leadership of the trust as Outstanding.
Royal Victoria Infirmary’s urgent and emergency service and its end of life care significantly improved. Inspectors saw a person-centred culture in the services and people’s feedback was consistently positive about the way staff cared for them. Staff were recognised as developing strong relationships with the people they supported, enabling honest discussions about their care to take place. Both services improved to be outstanding overall.
Freeman Hospital’s end of life care also improved to outstanding. People felt respected and the care they received was tailored to their needs. Inspectors reported that care was holistic and resourced well, care outcomes were being monitored to identify areas for improvement. Inspectors also reported on several aspects of outstanding practice in both hospitals, the trust’s community end of life care also improved to outstanding overall.
CQC has also published the trust’s Use of Resources (UoR) report, which is based on an assessment undertaken by NHS Improvement. The trust has been rated as Outstanding for using its resources productively. The combined rating for the trust, taking into account CQC’s inspection for the quality of services and NHSI’s assessment of Use of Resources, is Outstanding.
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