Trust no longer rated Inadequate following inspection in March and April

St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been rated as Requires Improvement overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The improved rating means the Trust is no longer rated Inadequate, and follows an unannounced inspection of services by the CQC between March and April this year.

The Trust had previously been rated as Inadequate overall since the CQC’s last major inspection report was published in November 2016.

Following today’s announcement, St George’s is now rated Requires Improvement for being safe, effective, responsive and well-led. It is also rated Good for services being caring. However, the Trust remains in special measures for the time being.

Jacqueline Totterdell, who joined St George’s as Chief Executive in May 2017, said:

“This is a significant boost for everyone connected to St George’s. Our ambition is to provide Outstanding Care, Every Time for our patients and, whilst we are not there yet, moving to Requires Improvement is an important step in the right direction.

“We have made significant progress at St George’s and Queen Mary’s Hospitals over the past 12 months, and I am pleased the efforts of our staff have been recognised by the inspection team.

“However, the report published today shows that there is a lot more to do, and we must seize this opportunity to build on the progress already made. We will not be complacent.”

In their report, the CQC praised a number of improvements and innovative practices at the Trust. These included:

  • Our bariatric surgery team at St George’s, who have steamlined the patient pathway for gastric bypass patients, allowing them to carry out the first day surgery gastric bypass in the UK.
  • The paediatric intensive care unit at St George’s, which had better than average patient outcomes when compared with similar units, despite the high number of patients cared for.
  • The orthotics department at Queen Mary’s, which has received a Bureau Veritas certificate, which is international recognition for demonstrating excellence and a drive for continuous improvement within the department. The department also met more than 90% of the national performance targets.

However, the CQC also identified the need for improvements in a number of other areas, including the care provided for people living with mental health issues; the way we manage patients at risk of deterioration at Queen Mary’s Hospital; and the condition of some of our operating theatres at St George’s.

Since the inspection in March, a number of improvements have already been made; including greater and improved training opportunities for staff in Duty of Candour and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

In June, we also launched a new approach to managing deteriorating patients, building on good practice already in place at St George’s, and that are highlighted as a positive in the CQC’s inspection report published today.

We are also continuing with the modernisation programme for our operating theatres at St George’s.

Jacqueline Totterdell added:

“We are already tackling the must do’s and should do’s in the CQC’s report as a priority.

“However, we also know that long-lasting change is dependent on everybody at the Trust striving – day in, day out – to make our services the very best they can possibly be.

“This is what the very best organisations do, and I am pleased we have staff at the Trust who are committed to making this happen.”

You can read the latest inspection report in full when it is published on CQC’s website at https://www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RJ7

Notes to editors

For more information, please contact our press office on 020 8266 6128 or email communications@stgeorges.nhs.uk

St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest healthcare providers in the UK. Its main site, St George’s Hospital – one of the country’s principal teaching hospitals – is shared with St George’s, University of London, which trains medical students and carries out advanced medical research.

As well as acute hospital services, the Trust provides a wide variety of specialist and community hospital based care and a full range of community services to children, adults, older people and people with learning disabilities. These services are provided from Queen Mary’s Hospital, Roehampton, 11 health centres and clinics, schools and nurseries, patients’ homes and Wandsworth Prison.