SURGERY services at Derriford Hospital have been rated “good” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after inspectors found significant improvements since their last visit.

The April inspection, part of CQC’s ongoing monitoring of University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, saw ratings for safety, effectiveness, responsiveness and leadership upgraded from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good.’

While praising progress, inspectors highlighted ongoing concerns around dignity, respect and staffing. with the trust being asked to produce an action plan to address these issues moving forward.

Catherine Campbell, CQC’s deputy director of operations for the South, said: “When we inspected Derriford Hospital’s surgery services we found staff and leaders had been committed to using the findings from our last inspection to make improvements and this had resulted in positive changes being made across the board.

“Staff now felt listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. People said they knew how to raise issues and were confident their feedback was acted on. Many spoke about how comfortable staff made them, and how they had been supported to make decisions about their care and give informed consent.

“The service had developed a culture of continuous improvement and we found leaders were visible, knowledgeable and helped staff to develop in their roles. They had good systems in place to act on safety risks, including when safeguarding concerns were raised, and made sure that lessons were learned and shared with staff when things went wrong.

“Although the service had made improvements, we were concerned with how many staff had completed all the training required for their roles, and found privacy issues with the orthopaedic operating theatres. The doors in the theatres enabled members of the public or other staff to see people who were being taken in for surgery and the trust addressed this following our feedback.

“The trust should be pleased with the progress they have made and we’ll continue to monitor them while further improvements take place. We will return to reinspect in future.”

CQC uses feedback from people using services, their loved ones and staff to help detect any changes in care. CQC also uses this information to help it decide when and where to inspect. If there is evidence people are at immediate risk of harm, CQC can and will take action to ensure that people are being kept safe.

Responding to the release of the report, Jemma Edge, deputy chief operating officer and care group manager for surgery, said: “I am incredibly proud of all the hard work that has taken place, rewarded with the recognition from the CQC in upgrading our rating. This is such a team effort across multiple individuals and departments, all who have contributed to this outstanding achievement.

“It is a privilege to work alongside such inspiring colleagues who consistently go above and beyond, not only delivering outstanding patient care, but also driving continuous improvement in our services for both patients and staff. Their commitment to excellence is evident in our performance across many national benchmarks and continues to develop.”

Derriford Hospital’s overall rating remains “requires improvement.”