The most recent Care Quality Commission inspection found that whilst there had been some improvements in patient services at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, it still ?Requires Improvement'. This remains unchanged since the last inspection in 2016.
The CQC inspection did find some areas of outstanding practice.
- innovative approaches to improving staffing, through taking on care support workers and training them to develop as emergency care assistants,
- recruitment of five apprentices to become support workers,
- family friendly working patterns and,
- the redesigning of medical posts to allow development of expertise outside of the emergency department.
The Trust also improved their overall rating in the ?Caring' domain from ?Requires Improvement' to ?Good'.
Jon Cruddas MP said: "Whilst there has been no overall improvement in the rating, this latest inspection is encouraging and highlights that the Trust are making changes and progress across services."
The Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Ted Baker, said: "While I recognise there has been improvement in the quality of care in some areas at Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust, there is still scope for improvement in many areas."
Matthew Hopkins, BHR Chief Executive commented: "I'm delighted that three out of four services inspected ? Maternity, Medical Care (including older peoples care) and Surgery ? have all improved their ratings to Good."
There was no change in rating for Urgent and Emergency Care however improvements were recognised, and the innovative approaches to staffing in the department were noted.
Jon Cruddas concluded: "there's still a long way to go, but if you look at where we were a couple of years ago with the Trust in special measures there have been big improvements. The most important thing is that the Trust continues to work towards a service across both King George's and Queen's Hospital that delivers the best quality of care for residents."