Local health trust rated ‘Good’ by CQC for third consecutive time

North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has been rated as ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for the third consecutive time.

The CQC carried out unannounced targeted inspections of five of our core services during October and November 2019.

CQC inspections aim to make sure healthcare organisations provide care which is safe, caring, effective and responsive to people's needs and that the organisation is well-led.

The regulator has rated community and mental health services provided by North West Boroughs Healthcare for people living in Halton, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens, Warrington and Wigan as ‘Good’.

They rated the trust as ‘Good’ across all five domains of safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. This includes an uplift from ‘Requires improvement’ for responsive.

The report, published on 20 February, includes an overall summary of findings across the trust and reports for each of the five core services inspected:

• Forensic inpatient / secure services
• Mental health crisis services and health-based places of safety
• Specialist community mental health services for children and young people
• Wards for older people with mental health problems
• Wards for people with learning disabilities or autism

Positives highlighted include:

• Effective leadership across the organisation
• Clear vision, values and behaviours at the heart of all work within the organisation
• Clear five-year plan to provide high-quality care and financial stability
• Values-based culture which is positive and open
• Effective governance structures, systems and processes
• Systems in place to identify learning from incidents, complaints and safeguarding alerts and make improvements
• Enough nursing staff, who know patients and receive training to keep them safe
• Wards are safe, clean, well-equipped, well furnished, well maintained and fit for purpose
• Staff assess the physical and mental health of all patients
• Staff support patients to make decisions on their care themselves
• All services treat patients with compassion and kindness
• Involve patients in care planning and actively seek their feedback on the quality of care
• Staff felt respected, supported and valued
• Mental Health Act administration and compliance
• Strong focus on quality
• Digital improvements and access to information – high-quality clinical records

Improvements have been recognised in a number of areas, particularly our older people’s wards.

Some areas for improvement have also been identified which we are now focusing on addressing. 

Our wards for people with a learning disability or autism remain as ‘Requires improvement’ overall and our mental health crisis services and health-based places of safety have also been rated as ‘Requires improvement’ overall.

Helen Bellairs, chairman of North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It is a fantastic achievement to have maintained our ‘Good’ rating for the third consecutive inspection.

“I’m particularly proud, but not surprised, to receive positive feedback about our kind and compassionate staff. Our staff are the heart of our organisation, putting our patients’ wellbeing first at all times. I’m pleased to see the dedication and hard work I see every day receive the praise and recognition it deserves.

“While we remain ‘Good’ for all domains, there are some areas for improvement which we are now focusing on.

“It’s important to remember the CQC process is about identifying where continued improvements can be made and working together to make them happen. We have a strong track record in taking action to improve services, as demonstrated by the recognition of improvements made on our older people’s wards which were rated ‘Inadequate’ after the last inspection in 2018 and are now ‘Good’ for all domains.

“We have already begun addressing the ‘must do’ and ‘should do’ requirements outlined by the CQC to make sure we provide quality, safe and effective patient care to support our communities to live life well.”