Inspiring leadership, sustained improvements and the hard work of dedicated staff has resulted in West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust moving out of special measures.
Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) made this recommendation following a full inspection of the trust’s three hospitals this summer.
The decision to take the trust out of special measures was made by NHS Improvement, the regulator of hospital trusts.
CQC inspectors also commented on the “strong, supportive and visible” leadership and noted “a positive culture” where staff are “proud to work at the trust”.
The CQC assesses five aspects of a site or service – safe, caring, responsive, effective and well-led – and awards them ratings: inadequate, requires improvement, good or outstanding.
As well as leaving the status of special measures behind, the trust – which manages Watford General Hospital, Hemel Hempstead Hospital and St Albans City Hospital – has seen a positive and dramatic change in the ratings for its sites and services, despite the overall rating remaining ‘requires improvement’.
Trust chair Professor Steve Barnett said: “These results tell a story of commitment, care and high quality services. Even the quickest glance makes it clear that we have come a long, long way since being placed in special measures in 2015.
“Events in recent weeks only emphasise the kind of workforce we’re so lucky to have; we won a national award from the Health Service Journal; our medical director was invited to present nationally about our low mortality rates; and staff struggled through snow and ice to keep our services going and our patients safe.”
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