PRESS RELEASE 22nd February 2019
Harefield Hospital’s surgery department has been rated ‘Outstanding’ by the independent regulator for health and social care providers.
On Friday (22 February), the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published its latest report on Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, commending clinical teams for the quality of specialist care they provide and for the compassion shown to patients.
As well as awarding the Trust, as a whole, a rating of ‘good’, the CQC rated surgery at Harefield Hospital ‘outstanding’ – their highest score.
They described the service as using a “systematic approach to continually improve the quality of its services and safeguarding high standards of care by creating an environment in which excellence in clinical care would flourish.”
The team were also commended for their approach to a number of issues around safety, culture and innovation, and recognised for new ways of working.
The CQC also noted:
- “innovative ways used before, during and after surgery, to protect patients from surgical site infections. Surgical site infection rated remained below the national average.
- “staff continued to involve patients and those close to them in decisions about their care and treatment. We saw and were told that patients and their families were respected and valued as individuals and were empowered to be partners in their care, practically and emotionally.
- “staff went above and beyond to care for patients who had to stay in hospital long term. Staff tried to make the hospital a home away from home and provided patients with independence and activities where possible.
- “surgery services were developing a virtual reality goggle system which would allow patients to become familiar with the hospital surroundings….to allow patients to gain an insight into what will happen to them when they are admitted to hospital for their surgery.”
Commenting on the report, Bob Bell, chief executive of Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We welcome the findings of this report. This is an impressive and well-deserved achievement, especially for the surgery teams at Harefield Hospital who were commended for their approach to a number of issues around safety, culture and innovation. I am pleased that their continued commitment to providing exceptional care for patients has been recognised in this way.”
Between 16 and 18 October 2018, the CQC inspected four of the seven core services provided by the Trust: Critical Care and Young People's Services at Royal Brompton Hospital, and Surgery at Royal Brompton Hospital and Harefield Hospital. The Trust was rated safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.
Bob Bell concluded: “It was clear to the CQC that we are an organisation that steadfastly prioritises one thing above all else; delivering the best possible specialist care. Whatever else changes in the environment around us, patients will remain our focus and our commitment to them will guide everything that we do.”
Ends
For further information, please contact:
Oliver Wilkinson
Deputy head of communications
Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust
Tel: 020 7352 8121
Email: o.wilkinson@rbht.nhs.uk
Follow us on Twitter: @RBandH
Notes to editors
Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust is the UK’s largest specialist centre for the treatment of heart and lung disease. Working from two sites, Royal Brompton Hospital in Chelsea, West London, and Harefield Hospital, near Uxbridge, the Trust has an international reputation for the expertise of its staff, high standard of care and research success. Experts at the Trust help patients from all age groups who have heart and lung problems and provide some of the most complex surgery and sophisticated treatments available anywhere in the world.
The Trust is the UK’s largest centre for the treatment of adult congenital heart disease and is the country’s leading provider of specialist respiratory care. Over the years the Trust has been responsible for major medical breakthroughs, such as the UK’s first combined heart and lung transplant. It established the UK’s first adult service for cystic fibrosis, which is now one of Europe’s biggest treatment centres for the condition, and has pioneered the use of primary angioplasty for the treatment of heart attacks. Today the Heart Attack Centre at Harefield has one of the fastest arrival-to-treatment times in the UK, a crucial factor in patients’ survival.
As a member of the Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC), in collaboration with Imperial College London, Imperial College Healthcare Trust and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, the Trust helps to drive innovation and improved care for over 1.1 million patients each year in North West London, by aligning the research, education and clinical services of the partner organisations. For further information, visit www.rbht.nhs.uk