Infirmary receives positive report from CQC

Hospitals run by The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, including Rochdale Infirmary, have received another positive report in its latest inspections by the independent healthcare regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The CQC carried out an unannounced visit to The Pennine Acute Trust in September. This included visits to the Trust’s A&E Departments at North Manchester General Hospital, Fairfield General Hospital in Bury, The Royal Oldham Hospital and to the Urgent Care Centre and Clinical Assessment Unit at Rochdale Infirmary.

The CQC’s overall judgement was that Rochdale Infirmary was again meeting all the essential standards of quality and safety. The CQC previously visited the infirmary in January 2011.

In April this year Rochdale Infirmary opened its new Urgent Care Centre (UCC) which replaced the former A&E department following planned changes to emergency services as part of Healthy Futures. The Infirmary no longer has an A&E. The UCC is open 24/7, 365 days a week.

During the visit, the CQC inspectors checked records and spoke with patients, relatives and staff.

The visits focused on six specific outcomes for patients. For each hospital the CQC found that: 

• People experienced safe and appropriate care and treatment that met their identified needs and wishes
• People were able to have their medication managed and administered securely and safely
• People had access to all the equipment they required and this was well maintained
• Sufficient numbers of staff were available to meet the needs of people using the service 
• People were able to raise comments and complaints and were assured that they would be dealt with appropriately
• People's personal records were stored securely and contained clear appropriate information 

In its report, the CQC commented on Rochdale Infirmary: “Staff on the Urgent Care Centre and the Clinical Assessment Unit said that they had all the equipment they required, and it was all functioning correctly. As the Urgent Care Centre is a new unit we heard that equipment was constantly being reviewed to ensure enough was available, and further supplies were easy to access. Staff said that faulty equipment was reported and repaired in a timely manner. During our visit the Advanced Nurse Practitioner showed us the Urgent Care Centre stabilisation area. We were told that this was not a resuscitation area. A defibrillator was held in the area. We were told that in the event of someone suffering a cardiac arrest the initial support would be provided by trained hospital staff and an ambulance would also be called.

“We also visited the Clinical Assessment Unit at Rochdale Infirmary. This was the only unit in Rochdale Infirmary that had overnight beds. Staff said that the unit became very busy when GP surgeries opened in the mornings and started to refer patients. The staff we spoke with thought that more staff would be beneficial and would help them provide a better service for local people. However, current staffing levels were adequate for the ward's intended use.”

Marian Carroll, Director of Nursing at The Pennine Acute Trust, welcomed the latest CQC report and said: “This report by the CQC is a testament to the hard work, skill and commitment of all our staff who strive to provide the very best care for our patients.

“In addition to the inspections by the CQC and the regular ward visits by our Board members, it is important that we continue to seek the views of patients, relatives and staff on an ongoing basis to help us to look at where we are performing well and where we can make further improvements.

“We will not be complacent. We shall build on this positive feedback from the CQC.

“This is excellent news for the Trust and our staff should be congratulated.”

To read the report visit: http://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/reports/RW6_The_Pennine_Acute_Hospitals_NHS_Trust_RW604_Rochdale_Infirmary_RoC_201110.pdf