Hospital trust told it needs to improve

The trust which runs Peterborough City Hospital has been told they require improvement after inspectors raised a series of concerns including with the way medicines were stored, the number of qualified, competent and experienced staff, and in the maternity ward.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) gave the North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust (NWAFT), which runs the Peterborough hospital, Hinchingbrooke and Stamford and Rutland Hospitals, the rating following their latest visit earlier this year, and said a number of services ‘had deteriorated’ since their last visit in 2018.

However, Caroline Walker, chief executive of the trust, said the report would act as a ‘good source of information to progress our continuous improvement.’

In addition to its overall rating, NWAFT is rated as Requires Improvement for whether its services are safe, effective, responsive and well-led. It is rated Good for whether its services are caring.

Professor Ted Baker, CQC Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said: “Inspectors found some good and outstanding practice at North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, but they also saw areas where services had deteriorated.

Caroline Walker said staff were working hard to improve services.

She said: “While we know the outcome of this report as ‘Requires Improvement’ is disappointing for our board and for many of our staff, we will use this as a good source of information to progress our continuous improvement.”

“Our staff have been and continue to work incredibly hard under a huge amount of pressure to maintain a high standard of care for our patients and this is reflected in the areas rated as Good and Outstanding and is something that we should celebrate.”