Whittington Health rated as ‘Good’ by CQC

Whittington Health has been rated as Good, with caring at the Trust being rated as Outstanding, following a thorough inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The Care Quality Commission’s team of inspectors visited the hospital and community services in December 2015 and found staff to be committed to delivering the highest standards of care to patients – with some areas of outstanding practice.

The inspection team heard from patients who described some services as ‘life changing’ and overwhelmingly patients felt that they were treated with dignity and respect.

Chief Executive of Whittington Health, Simon Pleydell, said: “This report stands as a testament to the tremendous hard work and commitment of our staff. Treating our patients with care and compassion is the foundation of all we do and we are proud that the way our staff care for patients has been rated as Outstanding.

“From protecting patients against abuse and providing cancer care workshops through to supporting children and young people at the end of their lives, the CQC inspectors witnessed many examples of our teams going ‘above and beyond’ to care for patients.”

The report also found clear evidence that care was focussed on patients with particular areas of outstanding practice in hospital and community care.

The Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, said: “We saw several areas of outstanding practice at Whittington Hospital. We saw staff providing compassionate care and patients were positive about the care they received and felt staff treated them with dignity and respect.

“Within the emergency department there was outstanding work to protect people from abuse.

“Within community end of life care we found the service provided outstanding, effective services to children, young people and their families. We saw examples of very good multidisciplinary working and effective partnerships with the local GPs, other providers and hospices.

The inspection report also highlighted key areas where Whittington Health must make improvements, particularly around how beds are used at the hospital.

Simon Pleydell, added: “It is vital that we continue to build upon our success and continue to be rated as one of the best NHS Trusts in London. The inspection team have also highlighted some areas we know need to improve – particularly around our bed capacity and improving the flow of patients through our hospital and we have already started to address these specific concerns.”

Whittington Health is one of only eight NHS Trusts in London to be rated as ‘Good’ by the CQC.

To read a full copy of the report, please click here.