The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has today published its inspection report into it’s most recent inspection of services at Lister Hospital in Stevenage.
The findings from the report mean that East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust continues in the “Requires Improvement” category.
During their visit, the inspectors found areas of good and improved practice, as well as areas where the Trust needs to continue to improve.
Inspectors found that the Lister Diamond Jubilee Maternity Unit has improved – moving from Inadequate to Requires Improvement. The work with the Maternity Voices Partnership was also highlighted as an area of outstanding practice.
Surgery at Lister has also improved on the safety rating from Inadequate to Requires Improvement.
This means out of the services inspected, there are no longer any areas which remain Inadequate.
It was highlighted that improvements are needed in the Trust’s urgent and emergency care services, which have been downgraded to Requires Improvement, and the Trust has already begun work to improve patient flow, reducing pressure on its emergency department, and lessening long waits.
Many of the improvements will be delivered as part of our new partnership with the world-renowned Virginia Mason Institute. Through this partnership, we will implement a proven approach that improves our processes, reduces waste (of time, effort, and resources) and enhances patient experience.
Adam Sewell-Jones, Chief Executive at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, said:
We welcome this report from the CQC, as we do any external views on the Trust.
“We recognise the areas to improve, and for most of these work is already underway – for example creating an adult Urgent Treatment Centre at Lister which will ease the pressure in our emergency department, and fantastic progress in carrying out more operations than ever – in July we carried out 27% more procedures than the same time in 2019.
“We will continue to focus on providing safe, compassionate care to our communities, and look forward to sharing further improvements over the coming months.”
Theresa Murphy, Chief Nurse at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, said:
I join Adam in welcoming the latest inspection report from the CQC and, although there is still work to do, am particularly pleased that the rating for our maternity service has improved.
“This improvement demonstrates the hard-work and commitment of our maternity team, colleagues across the Trust, and the Lister Maternity Voices Partnership.
“I am looking forward to working with colleagues across the Trust and our partners to deliver further improvements, ensuring we can provide the very best care which our patients expect and deserve.”
Care Quality Commission (CQC) Report:
The CQC carried out an inspection of the Lister Hospital location on Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 June and Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 August 2023.
You can read the findings within the full CQC report.
Though the CQC inspected services at Lister Hospital in Stevenage; the Trust also run acute and tertiary services at the New QEII Hospital in Welwyn Garden City; Hertford County Hospital in Hertfordshire and the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC) in Northwood, Middlesex.
