AN NHS trust must improve after issues were found with safeguarding and medicines, a watchdog has said.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out an unannounced inspection of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) last year.
This came after concerns were raised to watchdog and to follow up on Warning Notices handed to Good Hope Hospital and Heartlands Hospital.
Some of the services inspected included the urgent and emergency care at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Heartlands Hospital and Good Hope Hospital and the neurosurgery and cancer services at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.
The report notes Solihull Hospital was not observed during this inspection.
The overall rating for UHB, which oversees the running of Solihull Hospital, Good Hope Hospital and Heartlands Hospital, remains as requires improvement.
The CQC inspected medical services at Good Hope Hospital to follow up on a warning notice which was issued to the trust in December 2022 due to serious issues identified around staffing.
At this latest inspection it was noted the trust had not met the requirements of the warning notice, and due to further issues being found, conditions were placed on the trust’s registration.
Maternity services at Heartlands Hospital were also inspected to follow up on a warning notice which was issued last February – the report noted the requirements of the warning notice had been met.
During the inspection serious concerns relating to safeguarding practices within the emergency departments were noted and inspectors found not all staff had received mandatory and safeguarding training, including training which became a legal requirement.
However, staff were noted to provide emotional support to people, families and carers to minimise their distress and help people understand their condition and make decisions about their care and treatment.
Jonathan Brotherton, chief executive at UHB said: “We fully acknowledge and recognise that we do not always get things right and there are areas where we need to improve.
“However, I am confident that since the CQC visited us last year, we have begun to take focussed and positive action by delivering a series of improvements and measures, to support making our organisation the best possible place to be treated and best possible place to work.
“Providing safe and excellent care to our patients is what is most important to us; we all want patients to be confident and assured that the care and treatment provided at our hospitals is safe and we want our colleagues to all feel proud of the quality of care that they are giving.
“I am heartened to hear that the inspectors noted how our teams treated patients with compassion and kindness, supporting them, their families, and carers to understand their condition and make decisions about their care and treatment. This clear demonstration of compassionate care is something that I would like to echo.”
