Kelly Tolhurst MP has expressed her delight and congratulations to Medway Hospital on today’s positive CQC report.
Following the last inspection in August 2015 where improvements were highlighted but the hospital remained in special measures, today’s report has recommended Medway NHS Trust will come out of special measures. No services are now rated as inadequate, and many have been commended for the changes that have been made in the past year.
The CQC has reported that Medway NHS Foundation Trust is no longer rated ‘inadequate’ overall, following a series of significant improvements. The Trust has now been given ratings as ‘good’ for being ‘caring’, ‘effective’ and ‘well-led’, while maternity and gynaecology are rated as ‘outstanding’.
The hospital has also seen improvement in other crucial areas of care such as a reduction in mortality rate, improved emergency care with patients no longer being treated in corridors, improved staff morale and culture of incident reporting.
Following the report publication Kelly said,
“I am delighted at this long-awaited news that sees our local hospital come out of special measures after years of issues that impacted patients.
“Huge credit must go to Lesley Dwyer and her team for all their hard work since May 2015 in putting together a progressive plan that has delivered excellent results in a short time.
“The is a real milestone for Medway’s health services but it is by no means the end of the journey and I will be doing all I can alongside other Medway MPs to ensure our hospital goes from strength to strength.”
Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt MP said:
“I’m absolutely delighted that Medway has exited special measures – and I want to pay tribute to the outstanding staff there who have always sought to put patients first.
“Their journey hasn’t been an easy one – some of the problems at Medway were deeply entrenched, and the Trust was part of the first group to go into special measures – which makes the achievement all the greater. I’m confident the new leadership team will continue to drive improvements, engagement and morale at the trust.”