How each of Queen Alexandra Hospital's departments were rated in latest CQC inspection

IMPROVEMENTS were made across the board at the city’s hospital following its latest report from a health watchdog.
CQC rating of Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust
Code: 
Arrows facing = same rating as before
One arrow up = one rating up
Two arrows up = two ratings up
One arrow down = one rating down
Two arrows down = two ratings down
CQC rating of Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust
Code: 
Arrows facing = same rating as before
One arrow up = one rating up
Two arrows up = two ratings up
One arrow down = one rating down
Two arrows down = two ratings down
CQC rating of Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust Code: Arrows facing = same rating as before One arrow up = one rating up Two arrows up = two ratings up One arrow down = one rating down Two arrows down = two ratings down

CQC inspectors headed into Queen Alexandra Hospital, run by Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, and looked at urgent and emergency services, medical care (including older people’s care), surgery, maternity and outpatients as well as the trust’s use of resources and leadership.

Urgent and emergency services remained as requires improvement due to long waits within the department as well as ambulance handovers and the lack of facilities for the number of patients.

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The report read: ‘Demand for services frequently outstripped the availability of appropriate clinical spaces to assess, treat and care for patients.

Patients were frequently cared for in non-clinical spaces and there were regular occurrences of patients being held in ambulances outside the department due to lack of capacity to accommodate them. Patients were not always able to access care and treatment in a timely way and in the right setting.’

Inspectors did note that staff helped patients to understand their conditions, provide pain relief and treated concerns and complaints seriously.

Both medical care (including older people’s care) and surgery have improved to a good rating. The report noted medical care staff had key training skills and provided good care and treatment.

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Following improvements since the last inspection in record keeping, risk assessment, infection prevention and control, medicines management, theatre safety culture, leadership, Mental Capacity Act (2005) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, the surgery department has now achieved a good rating.

Maternity services at PHT were last inspected in April 2018 as part of a joint inspection with gynaecology. In this inspection the services were rated as requires improvement due to women not being assessed in a timely way, a backlog of incidents which had not been reviewed in a timely way in order to mitigate risks and women’s personal information not managed effectively and could be viewed by visitors and other people in the unit.

However, inspectors also noted doctors, midwives and other healthcare professionals worked together as a team to benefit patients and to provide good care. The trust had also developed a multi birth facility which offered women one stop clinic and continuity in their care.

Outpatient services, including cardiology, dermatology, oncology and rheumatology, remained rated as good.

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The report read: ‘The service had staff with the right qualifications, skills, training and experience to keep patients safe from avoidable harm and to provide the right care and treatment.

‘Managers regularly reviewed and adjusted staffing levels and skill mix, and gave bank, agency and locum staff a full induction.’

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