I am delighted to report the fantastic news that Western Sussex Hospitals Trust has been rated 'Outstanding' in the Care Quality Commission's (CQC) latest report.
This is a tremendous achievement and one that anyone who knows our local hospitals will agree is richly deserved. It is all the more remarkable given that only 3 hospital trusts across England have been awarded this top accolade and I have sent congratulations and a huge thank you to all the staff on behalf of constituents.
Looking at the detail in the report it is particularly gratifying to see the very strong recognition from the inspectors of the strong team working and leadership with ‘respectful and warm relationships amongst staff’ and this has always been evident in my many visits to Worthing Hospital. It speaks for itself that so many staff and patients wrote in to the CQC on their own initiatives to praise the working environment and quality of care.
In contrast to some other hospital trusts it is particularly pleasing to see how WSHT has ‘an embedded culture of learning from incidents’ and has led the way in innovation and piloting new approaches. It is invidious to single out one area but the ground-breaking work on the ‘Emergency floor’ is a good example of how your new approaches have helped to produce a much more robust patient focussed service that has undoubtedly avoided the consequences of some of the pressures suffered by many other hospitals. Given the additional challenges provided by the age profile of the local population this is no mean achievement.
It is entirely fitting that the success story that is the Western Sussex Hospitals Trust that we have all known about locally for some time, can now be appreciated on a national level. Above all it is a huge vindication for all of the staff and members of the local community who came together not many years ago as part of the KWASH campaign to save Worthing and St Richard’s as major hospitals. Thank goodness we succeeded!
You can read the full report here: https://www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RYR
You can find my letter of congratulations attached below.