The Royal London Hospital goes green for good
London’s newest and most modern teaching hospital is today rated “good” by the care quality regulator.
The official seal of approval from the Care Quality Commission followed top-up inspections of maternity services and end-of-life care at The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.
Both were rated “good” – with maternity being “outstanding” for being well-led - and these findings upgraded the overall rating for the hospital, part of the Barts Health group.
The Trust was taken out of special measures last month after two-thirds of all inspected areas at its four major hospitals were found to be “good". This latest CQC report means two of those hospitals are now rated “good” following an earlier inspection of St Bartholomew’s Hospital in the City last year.
At The Royal London, the CQC has now rated 80 per cent of all the service areas inspected as “good” or better. The earlier report had found aspects of critical care to be “outstanding” and rated the site’s dental hospital as “outstanding” in most respects.
Jackie Sullivan, managing director of the Royal London, said: “This is tremendous news, and a tribute to the hard work of our talented staff. After an uncertain start in the new building, the team has come together and transformed the way we provide services for our patients.”
In all the CQC highlighted 22 areas of outstanding practice at the hospital, including its trauma team, a clinic for survivors of childhood abuse, multi-disciplinary teams for end-of-life care, and initiatives to support mothers-to-be among the Bengali community of Tower Hamlets.
The state-of-the-art Royal London Hospital opened in February 2012 and became a founding part of Barts Health NHS Trust in April that year.
Alwen Williams, group chief executive of Barts Health, said: "I am delighted that the regulator has recognised these marked improvements in services and highlighted examples of outstanding practice amongst staff. This is further evidence that the Trust is moving in the right direction towards our goal of becoming an outstanding healthcare organisation."