Southmead Hospital: North Bristol Trust rated good by CQC

The NHS trust which runs Southmead Hospital has been ranked as good overall by the health watchdog.

The North Bristol Trust, which also runs some community health services from Cossham Hospital, was previously rated requires improvement.

Dr Nigel Acheson, from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), said: "The credit must go to the hard work and commitment of the staff and leadership team."

The trust said its rating was due to staff "going the extra mile".

It said 31 of its 37 areas had been rated either good or outstanding in the inspection, which visited departments including A&E, maternity, end of life care, medical care and surgery.

The emergency department was rated as good, but inspectors said there were still issues with people being unable to "access the service in a timely way and this was a continuing problem".

End of life care, which was previously rated as requiring improvement, was upgraded to outstanding.

The report stated: "Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions."

Trust chief executive Andrea Young said hard work since 2014 to merge two hospital sites and move to a new home had paid off.

"The professionalism and hard work of our staff through this period now shines through," she said.

"We have the confidence and energy to go further and want to ensure every patient experiences exceptional healthcare, personally delivered."