UHDB's Critical Care services rated 'Good' by Care Quality Commission
Critical Care services - which deliver specialised care to the most seriously ill patients - at Royal Derby Hospital and Queen's Hospital Burton have been rated as 'Good' by national regulators.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC), which regulates and inspects health and social care providers in England, has today (25 June) published reports highlighting the units' focus on "delivering safe care" and their "kind and caring" staff.
The two hospitals' Critical Care Units form part of University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (UHDB), and were visited by the CQC in March this year as part of an unannounced inspection.
Sometimes also known as intensive care units (ICUs), critical care units are specialised hospitals wards that provide treatment and monitoring for people who are very ill. They are staffed with specially trained healthcare professionals and contain sophisticated monitoring equipment.
The CQC's latest findings have seen Queen's Hospital Burton's rating being upgraded from 'requires improvement' to 'good', and Royal Derby Hospital's unit sustaining its existing 'good' rating.
Critical Care Lead Nurse, Jo Whieldon, said the ratings reflected the values of the teams: "Our teams - including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, pharmacists, receptionists and more - all work collaboratively and flexibly across our two units to support patients and families through some of the most difficult periods of their life, not only with excellent clinical care, but also through kindness and compassion.
Emma Ramsey, Critical Care Matron for Queen's Hospital Burton, added: "We are immensely proud of our teams, who deliver this kind of person-centred care to hundreds of people a year, and we are really pleased that their hard work and dedication has been showcased."
As well as reflecting on the positive culture and teamworking within the units, the CQC found that staff were attentive to "the individual needs of patients" and "adapted care to support them", while respecting patients "personal, cultural and religious needs". Families spoken to by the CQC during the inspection also commented that staff were "kind and caring" that there was "nothing they would not do" for them and their loved ones.
Critical Care teams support patients and relatives at all stages of their care journey, and during the inspection the CQC witnessed teams working together to make sure patients got the right level of care, as quickly as possible, as well as compassionately supporting families to create memory boxes for patients who are at the end of their life.
UHDB's Chief Executive, Stephen Posey, said: "We are privileged to be able to provide care for communities across Derbyshire and Staffordshire, and we are immensely proud of the high-quality care delivered by our critical care teams.
"In these units, good care goes far beyond simply looking after someone's clinical needs, and it is positive to see the teams' compassion, hard work and commitment - which they show day in day out with their patients - being recognised in these reports."
The full reports will be published by the CQC on its website (opens in new window) >
Photo captions:
Top image: Some members of Royal Derby Hospital's Critical Care team in the ICU garden
Second image: Some members of Queen's Hospital Burton's Critical Care team outside ICU