Andy shares this great news from Isle of Wight NHS Trust. Ed
Isle of Wight NHS Trust has welcomed the latest ratings from the Care Quality Commission. The Trust’s NHS 111 service, part of the Island’s innovative integrated care hub, has been rated ‘Good’.
The ‘walk-in’ element of the Urgent Care Services has been rated ‘requires improvement’. The CQC inspected the services in March 2017.
300,000 people called 111 in five years
Speaking about the NHS 111 service Chris Smith, Clinical Director for Ambulance, Urgent Care and Community Services and Head of the Ambulance Service at Isle of Wight NHS Trust said:
“In the last five years over 300,000 people have called the NHS 111 service on the Isle of Wight. It is increasingly the first point of call for people seeking advice about healthcare issues when they need an urgent response but it’s not an emergency.
“It’s fantastic news that the CQC have rated the service ‘Good’ which is a credit to all the staff who provide the service.”
Improvement needed for walk-in service
The CQC found that the Urgent Care Service (Walk-in Service) which is co-located with Emergency Department at St. Mary’s Hospital ‘requires improvement’.
The CQC found that the Urgent Care Service was responsive and the staff caring but that the effectiveness of the service was inadequate and safety and leadership requires improvement.
Commenting Dr Mark Pugh, Executive Medical Director at Isle of Wight NHS Trust said:
“As a Trust we’re working really hard to ensure that the Trust’s services improve rapidly to meet the concerns identified by the CQC in April. We will be looking closely at the inspection report and ensuring that the actions we are taking following the previous report fully embrace the areas identified in this latest report.”
Work to be done
Maggie Oldham, interim Chief Executive at Isle of Wight NHS Trust said:
“The NHS 111 service on the Island is a great example of some of the good services we have. Everyone in the Trust and on the Island can be proud of the NHS 111 service and we’re pleased this has been recognised by the CQC.
“There is however work to be done to improve the Urgent Care Service. The Urgent Care Service, along with other areas of the Trust identified previously by the CQC, will be the focus of our improvement work going forward. Staff are working incredibly hard to make the changes required to address the issues identified by the CQC.”
