Hospital's critical care improves after concerns

Critical care services at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital have improved, inspectors have said, after facing previous concerns.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) raised the grade of critical care from "requires improvement" to "good", following an inspection in December.

A report published on Friday praised staff for treating people "with compassion and kindness" but said patients were not always discharged "in a timely way".

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, said it was proud of its staff’s work and that it remained committed to improving the service.

The unannounced inspection of critical care took place on 18 December and came six years after it was rated as "requires improvement".

The CQC inspectors said the service now had enough staff to care for people and keep them safe.

Medicines were managed well and staff members felt "respected, supported and valued", the report said.

Charlotte Rudge, from the CQC, said: "Staff should be extremely proud of the care they’re providing to people using the service and their families.

"Other providers of similar services should look at this report to see if there’s anything they can learn."

But the report said patients who no longer required a critical care bed were not being discharged to a ward soon enough as a result of capacity issues across the hospital.

It also said the trust did not always comply with national guidance, adding that there were not enough specialist critical care pharmacists or physiotherapists to meet national standards.

The overall rating of the hospital and the trust remains "requires improvement" as other services were not rated during this inspection.

Dr Sian Bhardwaj, clinical director for intensive care medicine at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said improvements were down to the dedication and hard work of the team.

"We are immensely proud of this accomplishment, which demonstrates our ongoing commitment to continuous improvement and ensuring the highest standards of care for our patients," she said.

"As a service, we remain focused on continuing to meet the evolving needs of our patients and enhancing the service that we provide to our community. We extend our thanks to our staff, patients, and partners for their support and contribution to this achievement."

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