Karen Bennett-Wilson, CQC’s Head of Hospital Inspection for the South (and lead for mental health) said: '‘I am delighted to report that the trust has continued to progress its good work and made the improvements that we said it should, following our 2018 inspection and has now been rated Outstanding overall. The trust’s determination to develop a culture of continuous improvement has improved services for patients across the board. Our inspectors found there was a real commitment to learning and driving improvements. The positive culture of the trust meant staff felt passionate about delivering good quality care. Staff and patients benefited from a stable and experienced leadership team who were visible and innovative. Staff spoke positively about the patient care and the striving for continual improvement. The hard work makes a real difference to the lives of people using the services. Everyone at the trust should be proud of this great achievement.”
A link to the inspection report is at the very end of this article.
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has been rated as Outstanding following an inspection carried out by the Care Quality Commission.
A team of inspectors visited the trust during November and December 2019 to check the quality of six core services: end of life care, acute and psychiatric intensive care adult mental health wards, child and adolescent mental health wards, specialist community mental health services for children and young people, community inpatient and community health services for adults.
CQC also looked specifically at management and leadership to answer the key question: is the trust well-led?
The Inspectors found there was a positive culture throughout the trust, one of inclusivity and compassion. Patients were encouraged by staff to express their views and wishes and were active partners their care. Patients had also been involved in quality improvement work on the acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care units which has led to a reduction in staff assaults and patient restraint.
End of life care services had a dedicated team where staff went beyond their duties to maintain effective working relationships between different teams, for example, if a patient moved to a local hospice. This provided continuity of care and support to patients at the end of their lives and for their families.
There were examples where the trust continued to innovate and develop different approaches to care. Staff in community adult services were able to upload pictures to the trust’s electronic record system. This allowed for immediate analysis and advice. This use of digital innovation helped the service to be responsive to patient need. The trust was beginning work on developing population heath management and implementing a new system for physical health monitoring and observation in seclusion.
Staff treated young people in the child and adolescent mental health wards with compassion and kindness. Staff respected people’s privacy and individual needs, they also supported them to understand and manage their treatment or condition. The provider also made sure that young people had good access to education and physical healthcare.
The trust supported specialist community mental health services for children and young people. For example, the East Berkshire team were part of the successful bid for NHS England funding to provide a mental health support team in schools. The trust had also designed an online peer-support based system to allow children, young people and their families to have a safe and confidential space to access support.
Within the community health services for adults, speech and language therapists were provided to train people in their homes to prevent choking and aspiration pneumonia. The diabetes service was also piloting a type 2 diabetes education programme for the Asian community.
The leadership team had the skills and knowledge to manage their teams well and were visible and approachable to staff and patients. Staff felt valued and were supported to develop and learn. Inspectors also found that staff were proud to work at the trust and that their morale was good.
Full details of the ratings, including a ratings grid, are given in the report published online at: https://www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RWX.