The Dudley Group has now received the CQC report and rating from the inspection it carried out in April 2018.
We are pleased to say we have been rated Good in 30 out of the 38 core areas inspected.
The majority of areas (five out of eight) received an overall rating of Good. We are disappointed, therefore, that our overall rating for the Trust is Requires Improvement.
Children and young people, medical care, surgery, outpatients and end of life care all received an overall Good rating. Across all core services inspected, we have been rated Good for being caring and effective.
Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, believes we are not far off achieving a Good rating and he has confidence that we are addressing the issues highlighted by the inspection.
It is a credit to our staff that the inspection team found much evidence of excellent practice and that our patients see them as highly caring with many examples of going the extra mile. The inspectors found a strong sense of team spirit amongst our staff and said they value The Dudley Group as a place to work.
The inspection report identified many good things we are doing for our patients. These include very regular comfort rounds on wards that mean nurse contact with patients is high, patients not needing to use call bells very often and rapid access clinics to fast track surgical patients.
We are already working on some of the areas the inspection picked up such as meeting our A&E target to see, treat, admit or discharge patients within four hours of arrival; reviewing our capacity in phlebotomy (blood test) clinics; looking at improving the appointment system for patients who attend our eye clinic. We are now developing an action plan to make other improvements highlighted by the CQC.
