Frontline staff at NGH have been praised by the Care Quality Commission for the kindness and compassion shown to vulnerable people, the good care they provide to patients and the high quality interactions between patients and staff.
The CQC also found that staff were actively engaged in improvement initiatives and there was shared learning from incidents.
Professor Ted Baker, CQC Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said:
‘Although Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust maintained Good ratings in some areas, there others where it was not meeting standards seen previously. However, staff were caring. They treated people respectfully with kindness and compassion, helping them emotionally when required such as following baby loss. Services were responsive, meaning people could generally access services when they needed, and staff worked as a cohesive team to benefit patients.’
Areas for improvement
Key areas of focus for improvement are:
- Capacity within our paediatric emergency facilities
- The management of medicines, equipment, clinical waste and hazardous chemicals
- Acting on, monitoring and sharing learning from incidents, patient safety alerts and complaints
- Improving mandatory training uptake
- Access to care for our patients and achieving national performance targets
- Ensuring our staff are kept fully informed and their views are taken into account
Dr Swart added: ‘We’re already taking action to make improvements in the areas highlighted by the CQC. Our processes for the management of medicines, equipment, clinical waste and hazardous chemicals have been reviewed and improved. Over the summer we’ve been working on a significant level of increased support for our workforce, many of whom are very much involved in helping develop our new People Strategy. I know that everyone at TeamNGH is committed to providing the best possible care and that, together, we will continue to do our best to deliver outstanding care for our patients and a positive work experience for our staff.’