Trust that runs North Devon District Hospital 'requires improvement'

The Care Quality Commission has finished inspections at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, the trust that runs Barnstaple's North Devon District Hospital, and given it a rating of 'requires improvement'.

The Care Quality Commission has published a report following inspections across medicine, surgery and diagnostics in November 2022 and a well-led inspection in May 2023.

The report for the inspection of clinical areas was published in May 2023 and an update was shared on the Trust website at the time: NHS Royal Devon | CQC report published on services at the Royal Devon

This report now collates both inspections and has resulted in the CQC giving the Trust an overall rating of ‘requires improvement’. The report is posted here.

There are three new ‘must-do’ actions following the well-led inspection:

• The Trust needs to ensure its systems and processes support it to oversee and respond to issues and risks more quickly and ensure learning from incidents, including never events and data issues.
• The Trust must ensure the information reported from its electronic patient record system is accurate and properly analysed to support regular audits to improve the quality of care.
• The Trust needs to achieve a stable financial position and continue to manage pressures so they do not compromise the quality of care.

Work is already underway to address these issues, in addition to the ’must do’ actions set out in the May service inspection reports. The Trust has developed action plans to address all of the areas of improvement identified, which will be published on the Trust website once approved.

Dame Shan Morgan, Chair of the Royal Devon, said: “We are of course disappointed with the rating, but believe the inspection report gives a fair and balanced picture of the position of our services between November 2022 and May 2023. We will use the report as a springboard for improvement.

“We are pleased that the CQC have recognised that patient safety is our top priority and that we have a clear process for speaking up and acting on concerns raised. We are very happy that they rated our services as outstanding for how caring they are – it is a tribute to all the staff of the Trust.”

The CQC reported seeing compassion and positive teamworking across the Trust. They found the leadership team to be “cohesive, patient centred and knowledgeable about the issues and priorities for the quality and sustainability of services”, and recognised the work underway as a recently integrated Trust to build an inclusive culture.

Chris Tidman, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are extremely proud of our staff and the CQC’s comments about the strong leadership and team-working they witnessed.

“The report reflects the very real challenges our teams face every day as they do their very best for our patients.

“We will use this feedback from the CQC as an opportunity to learn and improve the care we provide.”

Nigel Acheson, NHS Devon Chief Medical Officer, said: “There is a shared plan to address the financial and clinical challenges in Devon and the Royal Devon are one of the key partners delivering this.

“Royal Devon have played a key role in providing mutual aid to ensure that both urgent care and elective recovery plans are successful in Devon.”