It’s ‘good’ news for hospital NHS trust
EAST Cheshire NHS Trust has been rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following recent inspections of the trust’s services and leadership.
The trust, which runs Macclesfield District General Hospital and local community health services, underwent a major inspection of its services followed by a ‘well-led’ inspection of its leadership team in January and February this year.
The inspectors identified several areas of outstanding practice where staff were particularly responsive to the needs of patients.
These included within community end of life care, where staff ‘consistently treated patients in a compassionate, dignified, and respectful way’.
For those about to undergo invasive operations staff worked with people with learning disabilities to produce pictorial information booklets to prepare patients for surgery.
Boxes containing memorabilia such as local history books were available for patients living with dementia.
The frailty service was praised for providing a ‘wrap-around’ treatment to support patients at home before and after hospital admission.
This service linked with local care homes and meant that, for example, a podiatrist could refer patients to physiotherapy for a formal fall assessment if the patient was thought to be at potential risk of falling.
The children’s ward at Macclesfield Hospital was especially responsive to children and young people with learning disabilities and others on the autism spectrum and was accredited by the National Autistic Society.
The play specialists there have also developed special recreational bags for children with mental health issues.
John Wilbraham, Trust chief executive, said: “I am delighted that we have been given this rating, which shows our patients can be assured that they are receiving high-quality care delivered by professional and caring staff.
“It is a testament to the 2,500 hard-working and caring staff who make our organisation what it is.
“I am particularly pleased that inspectors found a number of examples of outstanding practice among community and acute teams and rated our community end of life care service as ‘outstanding’ under the CQC’s ‘Caring’ domain.
“Even with this rating we will continue to work to improve what we do for those who need us.”
The East Cheshire NHS Trust is also responsible for Congleton War Memorial Hospital and Knutsford and District Community Hospital.