Today the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published its latest inspection report into services at Southmead Hospital.
Here is our response from North Bristol NHS Trust, Chief Executive, Andrea Young:
“We recognise that we continue to be exceptionally busy, and have been for a period of time, with more people coming in than we sometimes have bed space for. We agree with the CQC that this is an issue that needs to be resolved. It has been a difficult winter and staff have done a fantastic job in caring for and treating patients when at peak times we have been under intense pressure due to the number of patients coming through the doors.
“This has impacted on the way we would normally deliver care, meaning that at times we have had to care for some patients in non-ward areas. We know this is not ideal and means some people are not receiving the high levels of care that we strive to provide at all times.
“I want to apologise fully to our patients whose care has been impacted and for any inconvenience or distress that this may have caused. I also want to thank our staff for their efforts during these busy times and am sorry for the stressful conditions this can cause.
“This is a matter we take very seriously and is a priority for us as a Trust. Later this month we will be launching a development programme for our staff that we hope will help us address many of the issues raised. We will also continue to work with our partners in the community to ensure patients who do not require our care can be safely discharged to other settings, including home and working with them to look at new ways of providing specialist advice and care in the community that could reduce the need for a stay in hospital.
Andrea Young added: “However, we are pleased to see that eight of our individual ratings at Southmead have improved – with seven moving to Good rating, including outpatients which has improved to Good overall and Caring for patients at the end of their lives being highlighted as Outstanding. This is a reflection of the dedication of our staff who the CQC has found are compassionate and caring across the board.
“I’m also really pleased that feedback from patients who were interviewed by inspectors was overwhelmingly positive and people spoke of how staff supported them and recognised their emotional needs. We see this on a daily basis and even during our busiest periods over winter we have received a significant number of compliments and I am grateful to our patients for taking the time to recognise the continued efforts of our staff. Teamwork was also highlighted across all professions and staff said they were highly motivated, proud of the work they do and felt valued, which is really important to us as.
“We have come a long way as an organisation, with steady improvement over the last three years. We will not stop in our ambition to be one of the safest hospitals in the country with great patient experience and an environment that enables staff to be their very best.”
You can read the CQC's full report on their website here.
