CQC reports recognise improvement and acknowledge continued pressure
Urgent and emergency care services at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) have been rated Good for being Safe, Caring and Well-led following an assessment by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published today. At the same time a report on older people’s care provided on Zennor ward has been assessed as Good.
Overall, urgent and emergency care was rated Requires Improvement, reflecting ongoing pressures of overcrowding in the Emergency Department and delays admitting patients to wards. A rating wasn’t given for Zennor Ward as it is only one part of the combined medical services at RCHT.
Chief Executive Officer, Steve Williamson said, “The report on our Emergency Department is fair and captures the challenging circumstances our emergency care teams and hospitals face. It is reassuring to see the rating for Safe has improved to Good but we accept that, together with our partners across the health and care system, we have more to do to further improve our ability to provide timely care, even at times of intense pressure, as we are currently seeing.”
In the seven months since the Emergency Department inspection, a great deal has been done to improve urgent and emergency care pathways, not least in the expansion and introduction of more community-based services offering alternatives to the emergency department or hospital admission. These include Same Day Emergency Care units in Bodmin, Camborne-Redruth and Penzance, and a new Single Point of Access advice line for GPs, ambulance crews and other health professionals to support them in directing patients to the nearest community services that can meet the individuals’ needs.
Most recently at RCHT we have launched our ‘Home for lunch’ initiative which aims provide a safer discharge from hospital by getting patients home and settled earlier in the day, and at the same time freeing up beds sooner to admit new patients. This will avoid long waits and over-crowding in the emergency department and consequently, ambulance queues and handover delays.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr Merry Kane said, “Like many parts of the country, we are experiencing a challenging start to 2025. Whilst Norovirus and flu have stifled our progress in recent weeks, the work we began in late November to get patients ‘Home for lunch’ had seen a reduction in ambulance delays and is helping us to contain those at a lower number, despite the current pressure.
“We’re also working to ensure we get patients home as soon as they are medically fit, particularly frail and elderly people, to avoid the hospital acquired deconditioning that can prevent them regaining their mobility and independence.”
Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals, Bernadette George said, “None of us want patients to experience delays in any part of their emergency care pathway and our own staff and colleagues across health and care services are working tirelessly to prevent that happening.
“What does shine through the CQC’s report is the kindness and compassion of our staff who assessors observed were ‘doing their best to mitigate risk at times of very high occupancy.’ It is also reassuring to see acknowledgement of the high calibre of leadership across the team and the open and honest culture that is so important to patient care and safety.”
Bernadette added, “The report on Zennor ward, following the CQC’s inspection last July, is an overwhelmingly positive one, with the team recognised for their attention to patient safety, risk assessments and well-documented individual care plans.
Whilst it was acknowledged the ward is well-staffed, the environment, in the oldest part of the Royal Cornwall Hospital is tired. The good news is we starting on a refurbishment next week which will include work to make the ward a more dementia friendly setting.
“It was great to see the team acknowledged for their work which has successfully reduced falls and to read the feedback from patients talking of kind and competent staff who supported and listened to them.”