Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust rated Good by CQC

We are delighted to confirm that CLCH has been rated as 'Good' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an inspection visit in September and October 2017.

The inspection was part of the routine visits all NHS Trusts have to assess the quality of the services they provide. CQC inspected four of the seven core services provided here. These were:

• Community end of life care rated Requires Improvement at the last inspection in April 2015.
• Community health services for adults.
• Community health services for children and young people.
• Community health inpatient services.

We were awarded Good in 38 out of 40 separate ratings and across five inspection domains (safe, caring, effective, responsive and well-led). CQC ratings use a four point scale of Inadequate, Requires Improvement, Good, and Outstanding. As well as our 38 Goods, we achieved one outstanding and one finding of requires improvement.

Andrew Ridley, CLCH's Chief Executive said:

"I would like to thank our staff for their outstanding contributions which have led to this excellent report. We are delighted with the outcome of this CQC inspection and all of our teams should be rightly proud of this achievement. As an organisation and also in the wider context of the NHS, we are continuing to work in a challenging environment - both financially and in relation to staffing levels; and it is a testament to the work of our dedicated staff group that we consistently provide a high-level of care and compassion to our patients.

"Importantly, we have seen a significant improvement on the CQC report we received two years ago (in 2015). As an organisation we are committed to improving the care we provide and I am confident that our staff group will respond to the report in a positive way to ensure we learn from its insights and continue to improve our services across all of our areas."

Angela Greatley OBE, our chair, said:

"This report is a fantastic accolade for the staff and our board members of CLCH, and reflects the way in which we work with our patients on our journey to becoming an outstanding organisation. I read the report with great pride.

"We are proud of the fact that the CQC rated us as 'Good' overall - the second time in a row that we have received this rating. This result is due to the consistent and high-quality care we provide across the organisation."

The CQC commended the Trust and our staff on a range of areas, including: how as an organisation we promote a positive culture that supported and valued staff, creating a sense of common purpose based on shared values. In fact, one part of the report indicates 'each member of staff we spoke with during our core service inspections and in focus groups held before the inspection reported feeling supported, respected and valued.' As well as this, the CQC found many examples of outstanding practice including:

• Allowing junior staff members and patients to actively engage with the trust's governance procedures, through Shared Governance.
• The work of our Homeless Health Team in Westminster worked with the increasing homeless populations. 
• The passion and enthusiasm of our tissue viability team and all staff involved in protecting our patients from pressure ulcers.
• The use and rollout of the e-Redbook, which was given to all new parents in the UK to manage the health and development of their child in partnership with health professionals and as an organisation we were the first organisation to roll it out.
• The school nursing staff in Westminster received a Child Health Award at the RCNi for her work on the Health Matters website. 
• The monthly quality council allowing staff to contribute ideas to improve end of life service provision at the trust, as well as the multidisciplinary team (MDT) innovation committee.

Professor Ted Baker, England's Chief Inspector of Hospital's at the CQC said:

"We found examples of outstanding practice in community health services for adults, community health services for children, young people and families, community health inpatient services and community end of life care.

"Managers across the trust promoted a positive culture that supported and valued staff, creating a sense of common purpose based on shared values. The trust had recognised issues raised in the staff survey and had taken action to address cultural issues.

"The trust engaged well with patients, staff, the public and local organisations to plan and manage appropriate services, and collaborated with partner organisations effectively."

>>The full report is available to read on the CQC website.<<