The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found improvements following an inspection of Wirral Community NHS Foundation Trust, also known as Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust. The inspection covered three core services and how well led the trust was overall. It took place over July, August and September. This inspection sees the overall rating of the trust move from requires improvement to good.
The trust provides a range of primary, community and public health services to the people of the Wirral, parts of Cheshire, St Helens and Knowsley.
CQC inspected the community health services for adults and community sexual health services to monitor the progress of improvements they were told to make following their previous inspection. CQC also inspected the trust’s community inpatients service for the first time, as well as how well-led the trust was overall. The trust had 24-hours' notice that the inspection would be taking place.
Following the inspection, the services were rated:
- Community health services for adults – the overall rating, as well as safe and well-led, have improved from requires improvement to good. Effective and responsive have again been rated as good. The rating for caring has improved from good to outstanding.
- Community sexual health services – overall, together with responsive and well-led have improved from requires improvement to outstanding. The rating for safe has improved from requires improvement to good. Effective and caring have again been rated good.
- Community inpatients – has been rated good overall and for being safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.
As well as the overall rating for Wirral Community NHS Foundation Trust improving from requires improvement to good, so has how safe and well-led the trust is overall. Effective, caring and responsive were again rated good.
Karen Knapton, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said:
“When we visited Wirral Community NHS Foundation Trust, it was fantastic to see the significant improvements that have been made across the trust and to see leaders took on board feedback from our previous inspection.
“Leaders were committed, and we found the trust board and senior leadership team displayed integrity. They were efficient decision makers and welcomed challenges to ideas and the input of staff expertise.
“Throughout the services we inspected, we found staff were competent and caring. They were up to date on their training and used nationally recognised tools to ensure people were safe. For example, staff conducted thorough risk assessments which meant they recognised when people were at risk of issues such as falls or pressure ulcers and could put systems in place to avoid those things from happening.
“We also found some outstanding practice in the community health services for adults and sexual health services where we received overwhelmingly positive feedback about the way staff treated people. Staff were reported as being discreet, responsive and were praised for treating people with dignity.
“The team at Wirral Community NHS Foundation Trust should be proud of these findings, and they’ve got a great foundation for making further improvements in other services.”
Inspectors found:
- The board and senior leadership team had clear vision and values that were at the heart of all the work within the organisation. They worked hard to make sure staff at all levels understood them in relation to their daily roles
- Staff across the organisation felt respected, supported and valued. They remained focused on the needs of people receiving care. Staff felt listened to and able to raise concerns if needed
- Staff provided emotional support and advice when needed. People we spoke with said staff met their emotional needs by listening to them, providing advice when required, and responding to their concerns
- People and those close to them understood their care and treatment; and staff supported people to make decisions about their care
- Staff made sure people living with mental health problems, learning disabilities and dementia, received the necessary care to meet all their needs
- People were given a choice of food and drink to meet their cultural and religious preferences. Any identified cultural needs were recorded as part of their care and treatment plan
- Leaders recognised the training needs of managers at all levels, including themselves, and worked to provide development opportunities for the future of the organisation
- The trust had effective information systems to consistently collect, analyse and present timely, reliable and accessible information
- The trust made sure that it included and communicated effectively with people, staff, the public, and local organisations
- The trust was committed to improving services by learning from when things go well and when they go wrong, promoting training, research and innovation.
However:
- The trust board recognised there was further work required to improve equality and diversity across the trust and at board level.