There are many different ways to assess the quality of healthcare provided in NHS hospitals. These can help patients make an informed choice about where they would like to be treated.
Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. To be registered, each hospital must meet essential standards of quality and safety, which include:
- involvement and information
- personalised care, treatment and support
- safeguarding and safety
- suitability of staffing
- quality and management
- suitability of management
Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) was registered with the CQC in April 2010.
In June 2011 the CQC conducted a scheduled review visit at the Trust. The Trust was found to be meeting all the essential standards of quality and safety, with one minor concern raised.
Details of the results of this review can be found here.
NHS Litigation Authority
In November 2009, GOSH was assessed by the National Health Service Litigation Authority against the Level 2 Risk Management Standards for Acute Trusts.
This is an NHS risk-based insurance scheme that assists Trusts in the management of claims and litigation.
The assessment provides an external, independent benchmark for the processes in place to manage risk.
Five key areas were assessed including governance, competence and capability of our workforce, the safety of the environment in which care is delivered, the management of clinical care including infection control and the ways that we ensure we learn from experience.
The Trust was successful in achieving Level 2 compliance, scoring 49 out of a possible 50 in total. This is an important achievement as it assists the Trust to demonstrate compliance with other regulatory bodies including the CQC.
The Trust maintained Level 2 compliance in 2010/11 and will be applying for Level 3 in the near future.
Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT)
PEAT is an annual assessment of inpatient healthcare sites in England with more than 10 beds.
PEAT is self assessed and inspects standards across a range of services including food, cleanliness, infection control and patient environment (including bathroom areas, décor, lighting, floors and patient areas).
NHS organisations are each given scores from one (unacceptable) to five (excellent) for standards of privacy and dignity, environment and nutrition/food service within their buildings.
The inspections were introduced to the NHS in 2000 and are overseen by the National Patient Safety Agency. Each Trust is required to audit their site annually and present the findings as a formal return to the NPSA.
In addition to this annual audit GOSH carries out a further three audits throughout the year in order to motivate continual improvement and embed change in a sustainable way.
The teams, which are made up of Non-Executive Directors, hospital staff, parents and carers, score cleanliness, the quality of a room’s decorations (curtains, carpets, etc), state of repair, use of nutritional
screening and meals on a scale from excellent to unacceptable.
The results of the latest inspections can be found here.
Compliance with guidance on delivering same sex accommodation for children and young people
Department of Health guidance for Delivering Same Sex Accommodation for Children and Young People sets out the importance of delivering healthcare based on the clinical, psychological and social needs of the individual child or young person.
Information on how preferences for accommodation are handled can be found here.
Read GOSH's declaration of compliance with delivering same sex accommodation.
Commission on Accreditation on Medical Transport Services (CAMTS)
In January 2010, the Children’s’ Acute Transport Service (CATS) was accredited by the Commission on Accreditation on Medical Transport Services (CAMTS).
CAMTS accredits organisations where it is demonstrated that patients are transported safely by qualified personnel, using the appropriate mode of transport
Further information about the accreditation programme can be found here.
