Isle Of Wight NHS Trust Taken Out Of Special Measures Following 'Good' CQC Report

The Isle of Wight NHS Trust has been rated 'Good' following a comprehensive inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and has been taken out of quality special measures by NHS England and Improvement.

Despite the pressure of responding to the pandemic, 89 of the Trust’s 108 ratings from the CQC are now Good or Outstanding – 82 per cent.

The CQC’s report, published on Thursday 23 September 2021, followed a series of planned visits by inspectors to St Mary’s Hospital and community-based services in June and July 2021.

Inspectors highlighted 18 examples of outstanding care or service, ranging from the quality of patient care provided to significant improvement in the Trust’s culture and partnership working.

Isle of Wight NHS Trust Chief Executive, Maggie Oldham,  said: 

“The people who make up our Trust have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic and even with all of those challenges they never lost focus on improving the services we provide to our community.

“It has been a long road to get to Good, but I am so proud of everyone that has contributed to this success. My sincere thanks go to all our staff, our volunteers, our partners and to our community for all their support.

“Being rated Good by the Care Quality Commission isn’t the end of our improvement journey – we know that there is more we can do, and our focus now will be on working with our partners to sustain the progress we have made and to ensure that our services are sustainable.

“I hope everyone working at the Trust can take a moment to appreciate the scale of this achievement and to reflect on their important contribution to our improvement – none of this would be possible without our wonderful staff. I cannot thank them enough.”

Inspectors found that the Trust provides person-centred care, and that staff are determined to meet the needs of patients and the public. They also found that there was a greater patient focus than seen before and that engagement with staff, patients, partners, and the wider healthcare system are much improved.

Overall, the Trust received a Good rating for how well-led its services are. Inspectors found that the Trust’s leadership were visible and approachable and that they supported colleagues to develop their skills and progress their careers.

Collectively, leaders and staff engaged with patients, equality groups, and the public, to plan and manage services to improve the services that local people rely on. There was also recognition for the focus the Trust has placed on supporting staff health and wellbeing.

The CQC noted that the organisation had a clear vision for the future of healthcare on the Island, which was well understood throughout the Trust.

Ted Baker, the CQC's Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said:

“At this inspection of the Isle of Wight NHS Trust, we found sustainable improvements have been put in place and embedded. This is a great achievement, the more so as it has taken place against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Throughout the inspection, the team received feedback that was overwhelmingly positive about staff often going the extra mile to support patients. The care and support received exceeded patient’s expectations, and this has resulted in the trust’s community services receiving an outstanding rating for being caring.”

Service ratings

Acute Services

• The Trust’s Acute (hospital-based) Services were rated Good, and Surgery received an Outstanding rating for Caring.
• Acute Services were recognised for providing compassionate care for children and young people and their families, as well as empowering, respecting, and valuing patients requiring surgery.
• In Acute Services the CQC found that patients, their families, and carers were involved in their care to help understand their condition and make informed decisions about their care and treatment.
• The Trust was also recognised for having a clear vision to support people living with dementia. Stroke services were highlighted for improving the service offered to islanders demonstrated by its recent A Rating in the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP).

Ambulance Service

• While the Ambulance Service was not inspected by the CQC as part of their latest comprehensive inspection, it was recognised for its strong partnerships.
• Other areas of outstanding practice were seen in the Ambulance Service being able to provide drugs to help ease symptoms for patients who need end of life care.
• The service was also commended for its innovative recruitment and training strategy to ensure urgent Island-wide care is available. Over the past year the team have recruited and trained 24 new volunteer Community First Responders.
• As it was not inspected in 2021, the Ambulance Service retains its rating of Requires Improvement. The Trust has asked the CQC to return to inspect its Ambulance Service at the earliest opportunity so it can demonstrate the significant improvement made since the 2019 inspection.

Community Services

• Community Services were rated Good overall. Three services received Outstanding ratings for Caring. These were Community Health Services for Adults, Community Health Services for Children and Young People, and Inpatient Community Health Services.
• The CQC found that teams in Community Services respect and value patients as individuals, working to empower them as partners in their care.
• Across the board, the Community Service, demonstrated they were highly motivated and passionate about their roles and that they go the extra mile to provide outstanding care and support to patients.
• The CQC also commented that all the feedback they received from patients about the staff was overwhelmingly positive.

Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Service

• All four of the services inspected this time were rated Good. The services not included in the 2021 inspection had been rated Good in previous inspections.
• All the individual Mental Health and Learning Disabilities services provided by the Trust are therefore now rated Good.
• Two of the services inspected in 2021 improved Inadequate to Good, which is an exceptional achievement, and a reflection of the hard work and commitment of staff to improving the quality of care.
• They found that the Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Service provides discreet, respectful, and responsive care. Carers and families were given the opportunity to be involved in people’s care to support recovery and ongoing treatment.
• The Service provides people with learning disabilities with accessible information about their care.
• The Trust has asked the CQC to return to inspect its Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Service as soon as possible so that it can demonstrate further improvements