Improvement made at Shropshire hospital trust but overall rating remains inadequate

A report published today by the Care and Quality Commission (CQC) has rated the Trust which runs Shropshire's two main hospitals as inadequate, although some improvement is being made.

The latest report rating means The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust has now been rated by the CQC as inadequate overall since 2018.

Visiting in July and August inspectors looked at four areas and services – urgent and emergency care, medical care, and end of life care at both the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital, and maternity services at the Princess Royal – as well as undertaking a ‘well-led’ inspection for the Trust overall.

Two of the five domains previously rated as ‘inadequate’ are now rated as ‘requires improvement’.

There were several areas identified in the inspection where action and improvement are still needed including the provision of end-of-life care, practice in respect of infection prevention and control, record keeping and storage, and vacancies in key areas.

The report also recognised that the Trust had made progress across a number of key areas, with the CQC noting:

- “Outstanding practice” was reported, with Midwifery staff showing immense levels of resilience as they were able to continue to provide high levels of care to women and babies and maintained a positive and caring attitude during extremely challenging circumstances

- Actions were being taken to recruit nursing, medical staff, and effective leaders;

- All staff were committed to continually learning and improving services;

- Staff were focused on the needs of patients receiving care and there was an open culture where patients, their families and staff could raise concerns;

- Women in maternity were treated with compassion and kindness, had their privacy and dignity respected, and account was taken of their individual needs.

Ted Baker, CQC chief inspector of hospitals, said: “While the trust continues to have significant work to do to provide care that meets standards people have a right to expect, it is providing more effective care overall.

“However, its risk management remains inconsistent and we are not assured it is doing all it can to ensure people’s safety.

“This is particularly concerning in urgent and emergency care at the RSH, where people did not always receive timely assessment to identify their needs, meaning staff were not aware whether people needed urgent treatment or not.

“The trust understands what it must do to improve, and we will continue to monitor its progress.

“There have been some areas of improvement, but work must happen at pace to build on this."

Louise Barnett, Chief Executive at SaTH said, “We welcome the CQC inspection report. The report identifies meaningful progress in the Trust, but also shows that more work is required to improve the services we deliver for our communities, and we have plans in place to achieve this.

“In incredibly difficult circumstances, progress has been made in key areas and much has been done to improve the way we work and deliver care. Our team has shown enormous dedication and commitment and I want to thank them for their exceptionally hard work to bring about these positive changes.”

“However, the report also reinforces the amount there is still to do on the Trust’s improvement journey. We are determined to build on this progress and use this, and the report, as a stepping stone to provide excellent care across all our services for patients and families in our communities.”