Health bosses welcome change in Scarborough Hospital ratings

​Bosses at the NHS Trust that runs Scarborough Hospital have said they are “really pleased” with an improved CQC rating from requires improvement to good for medical care and the re-rating of urgent and emergency care as requires improvement.

​The overall rating for Scarborough Hospital remains requires improvement.

​Clare Smith, chief executive of the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, welcomed the news while noting that “there is still work to do”.

​Speaking at a board meeting on Wednesday, March 25, she said: “We’ve seen improvements and the change of classification to good in the medicine domain, so I’m really pleased for them.

​“Of course, there is still work to do. I really want to thank all my colleagues, as it’s always a nerve-racking time during inspections – this one lasted three days, so thank you to them for all their efforts and ongoing commitment.”

​An inspection was carried out in October at Scarborough Hospital – the trust’s second largest hospital with 277 beds – as part of the CQC’s continual checks on the safety and quality of services.

​The report also identified areas for further improvement, including governance, ongoing challenges relating to training for medical staff, and the handling of complaints.

​However, across all areas visited, inspectors observed that staff interactions with patients and their loved ones were consistently warm, respectful and compassionate.

​Chair of the trust, Martin Barkley, said: “I’m really pleased for the medical care group in Scarborough for the improvement.”

​Karen Knapton, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said: “At this inspection, we were pleased to find a number of improvements had been made in medical care since our last visit.

​“However, further improvements were needed in both medical care as well as urgent and emergency care. It was also disappointing that issues we highlighted at the previous inspection, still hadn’t been addressed and new breaches were found.

​“In medical care, more work was needed to improve the delays for people waiting for some specialist treatment, particularly for cardiology and respiratory conditions. These are high-risk conditions where people’s health can deteriorate rapidly without specialist support. Leaders were aware of the issues and were taking action to address them.

“However, it was positive to find there’d been sustained improvements in how staff were completing risk assessments and escalating risks appropriately to keep people safe. They were also discussing people’s care needs with them, to ensure they could be included in any decisions about their care.

​“In urgent and emergency care, it was concerning that people couldn’t always access care, support and treatment when they needed it. At the time of the inspection, the number of people admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of arrival was 62 per cent, which was worse than the England average.”

​Dr Karen Stone, medical director at the York and Scarborough NHS Trust, said: “We welcome the CQC’s report and are pleased it recognises the improvements we’ve made, particularly in our medical care services. It’s reassuring that inspectors saw the compassionate, person-centred care our colleagues provide every day.

​“The report also clearly sets out where we must continue to improve. We acknowledge the pressures our teams are working under, particularly within urgent and emergency care, where access, patient flow and ambulance handover performance must improve, and in medical care where some patients have experienced delays in accessing specialist support.”