West London NHS Trust has been recognised as “very patient-centred with many examples of staff and leaders going the extra mile to support patients” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), in its report published today.
Following inspection by the CQC in early 2020, the Trust has maintained its ‘good’ overall rating, its ‘outstanding’ rating for caring and ‘good’ rating for being effective, responsive and well-led.
The report recognises the progress made since the Trust was first rated ‘good’ in December 2018, which has put its “clinical leadership teams in a strong position to develop their services further and improve consistency in order to achieve their ambition to become an outstanding Trust.”
The report highlights in particular:
- How staff treat patients with “compassion and kindness”, respecting their privacy and dignity and understanding how to support them towards recovery
- The “open and honest culture” at the Trust, with high morale among staff who are “very motivated to deliver high-quality care”
- The commitment to co-production and the “many outstanding examples of positive engagement” with patients and carers
- The work underway to transform local services as part of North West London’s evolving integrated care system, underpinned by the Trust’s track record of strong partnership working
- The smooth transfer to the new Broadmoor Hospital and of staff to the Trust to form Ealing Community Partners
While continuing to rate the Trust as ‘requires improvement’ for safety, the report recognises both the further work done to address recruitment and staffing levels and the plans for improving the poorest parts of the estate. The report also acknowledges the concerns raised and actions taken to date by the Trust about the inappropriate environment in the Wells unit – a national adolescent forensic inpatient service.
Carolyn Regan, Chief Executive of West London NHS Trust, said:
“Our overriding ambition is to deliver the best possible care for patients and to be outstanding across all the services we provide.
“This report recognises the progress we’ve made in consolidating the improvements of the past two years, setting us on a clear path to becoming an outstanding Trust. I’m particularly proud of the compassion and kindness shown and the quality of care delivered by our staff.
“At the same time, we remain focused – in the face of rising demand for our services – on our most pressing challenges, including the urgent need to modernise significant parts of our estate, some of which pre-dates the NHS itself.”
