Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission after first ever inspection
Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (BWC) has been rated as ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following its first-ever inspection.
The Trust, which was formed following the merger of Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Birmingham Women’s NHS Foundation Trust in February 2017, also became the lead partner for the Forward Thinking Birmingham community mental health service in 2016.
The comprehensive report, published on 14 November following an inspection in April/May this year, rated the Trust’s services as ‘Outstanding’ when it came to caring.
The Children’s Hospital maintained its ‘Outstanding’ status from 2017, the Women’s Hospital improved its rating from ‘Requires Improvement’ in 2016 to ‘Good’ and mental health services are rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ – following an inadequate rating for specialist community mental health services in February 2018.
BWC’s overall effectiveness, responsiveness and well-led were rated as ‘Good’, while safety was rated as ‘Requires Improvement’.
It also highlights widespread transformation of services across BWC when compared to previous CQC inspections.
Sarah-Jane Marsh, Chief Executive of Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“We’re fantastically proud that our first CQC report as a united Trust recognises the expertise, dedication and compassion that our teams show our women, children, young people and families every day.
“Inspectors were particularly impressed by the overwhelming pride our staff have in working for Birmingham Women's and Children's and how that translates into outstanding care for patients.
“To receive such a positive report detailing the widespread improvements that have taken place in every corner of our organisation is a significant achievement, and this result, against the backdrop of a complex set of mergers, makes it extra special.
“While it’s always great to see our hard work recognised by the CQC, our vision is to be a world-leading team providing world-leading care, and we are aware that what is good or outstanding today, may not be tomorrow; as such we will continue to strive to make the improvements that our women, children, young people and families deserve, with ambition, bravery and compassion in our hearts.”