NHS staff leading the way

If the NHS were a person, it’d never be out of hospital.

The service has been battered from pillar to post in recent years, with accusations of mismanagement, wasting money and poor service.

As a political football it’s taken one hell of a kicking.

Which is why when it performs well, we feel duty bound to sing its praises.

And in Sunderland, we’re delighted to report that Sunderland Royal Hospital’s revamped emergency department is going great guns.

As we reveal today, the service has been hailed as an example of excellence by none other that the Care Quality Commission.

In an age where every penny spent is scrutinised to ensure the public are getting their money’s worth, Sunderland’s emergency department is delivering on its investment.

The facility reopened this year after a multimillion pound redesign, but it is its management of capacity and demand and sharing of best practice that has earned the plaudits.

City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust was the only one in the North East to be mentioned in despatches a one of only 17 hospital trusts across the country to make the report.

It’s a feather in the cap for the trust and will help bolster public confidence in our NHS services, particularly at this busy time of year. As Dr Kate Lambert points out. “Winter is a particularly pressurised time for the NHS,” she said, “with an increase in complications linked to seasonal illnesses like flu and norovirus.”

Staff have been consulted on how best to cope and their expertise is being shared across the NHS.

Where Sunderland leads, the rest follow. A deserved pat on the back for our NHS stars.