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Abstract

Whittington chiefs are celebrating today (Friday) after the government’s healthcare watchdog rated it “good” overall.

The Archway NHS trust – which runs the hospital and a range of community services in Islington – has come through its latest Care Quality Commission inspection unscathed.

The CQC, the Ofsted of the NHS, marks trusts in five categories – including how well patients are cared for by staff – which the inspectors said was “outstanding” at the Whittington.

The report said: “Throughout the inspection and across the trust it was evident that care was patient-centred and staff treated patients with dignity and compassion. Patients we spoke with were positive about their experience and staff caring for them.”

It added: “Many staff commented on the friendliness of the trust and the fact that everyone knew everyone else.”

The trust was found to have “outstanding” service for the elderly, the teams in the emergency department who work on spotting victims of domestic and sexual abuse, the staff running “hope” courses for cancer patients and the palliative care teams.

The report said that the hospital’s ambulance hand-over times had been at one stage the best in the country and that the end-of-life care team was also “outstanding” because it was available 24/7. However, there was criticism of the way some patients had been discharged directly from critical care wards because recovery beds were not available.

There was also “limited assurances” about the safety of women undergoing elective procedures in the maternity unit’s second obstetric theatre.

“There was routinely insufficient staff presence when cases were conducted, and failure to formally agree for adequate cover by recovery nurses from main theatres meant pregnant women and their families were left without visible staff presence,” the report said.

Chief executive Simon Pleydell said: “This report stands as a testament to the tremendous hard work and commitment of our staff. Treating our patients with care and compassion is the foundation of all we do and we are proud that the way our staff care for patients has been rated as Outstanding.”

The inspection was carried out between and December 8 and 11 last year and followed up with unannounced visits on December 14, 15 and 17.