Torbay verdict from Care Quality Commission

The local health trust has retained its rating as 'outstanding'' for caring - but government inspectors say as a whole it needs improvement.

The Care Quality Commission has published a report following its well-led inspection of Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust in July - the previous well led inspection took place in 2018.

In addition to the well-led inspection, a short notice announced focused inspection of medical care, outpatients and the emergency department took place in Mayand a short notice announced comprehensive inspection for the diagnostic and imaging service in June.

The Trust as a whole has been rated as requires improvement while retaining outstanding for caring. Medical care, outpatients, the diagnostic and imaging service and the emergency department are all rated as requires improvement.

Chief executive Liz Davenport said: "We welcome the publication of the CQC report which reflects our challenges and our strengths. We feel it is a fair reflection of the issues our teams and our organisation face. The majority of the areas for improvement were already known to us and work is well underway to address these.

“We are proud that our people’s commitment to compassionate care is recognised and that we have retained our outstanding for care rating. Our people work tirelessly to provide the best possible care across our hospital, community and adult social care services and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support, kindness and dedication.

“We are pleased that the inspection recognised our focus on continuous learning and improvement and we will use the findings of the inspections to help us make things better for our people and our communities – the inspection report recognises that safety remains a priority for us (as it always will).

“We clearly hear the voice of our people in the report and recognise that we have more work to do to show our people how we are acting in response to concerns they have shared with us. We are proud to work alongside a diverse range of people and nationalities, serving diverse communities where different cultures and experiences mix and enhance what we do.

“We know we have much more to do to tackle inequalities for our people and our communities and in July our Board of Directors approved our inclusion plan which is shaping and directing our work to create a culture where our people are safe and healthy – we recently launched our compassionate leadership programme which has been co-produced with our people which complements our approach to creating an inclusive, fair and welcoming environment for everyone.

“We have some of the oldest NHS estate in the country which poses particular challenges. This has been recognised nationally and is why we are included in the new hospital programme which will deliver modern, fit for purpose environments in which to deliver high quality, safe healthcare. In the meantime, our dedicated staff continue to try to make the best use of our buildings. Since the inspection visit we have relocated our children’s emergency department and this now has a separate waiting area for children which is compliant with CQC standards as well as a triage space and treatment area for children with minor injuries.

“Both ourselves, and the Devon system as whole are in National Oversight Framework 4 due to financial and operational performance. We are working together with our system partners to address our financial and operational performance and we are making progress. A number of the challenges we face require a system solution and as the inspection report recognises our commitment to working in partnership to improve services. Our waiting times are reducing and our performing is improving across planned care and cancer services but we know we have much more to do to make things better for everyone in Torbay and South Devon.”