Salisbury Hospital rated by regulator as ‘Requires Improvement’

Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust has been told it must make improvements following a comprehensive inspection in December by the regulator – the Care Quality Commission.

While inspectors found the hospital merited a ‘good’ rating for being caring and effective, improvements were needed to ensure services are ‘safe’, ‘responsive’ and ‘well led’. The report specifies nineteen main areas where improvements must be made.  One basic order is for a wide scale review of nursing staff levels.

The CQC issued a warning notice requiring the hospital as a priority to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of its spinal services and to minimise the risks facing patients waiting for treatment in that department.

The report notes that the hospital has ‘an extremly positive culture’ and found that staff morale was good.

Salisbury Hospital has done well during recent months in meeting national targets for referral-to-treatment times and for the time patients spend in A&E.

However, one of the areas needing improvement is the A&E department: “A review of triage arrangements in the emergency department must be completed without delay, to ensure that all emergency patients are clinically assessed promptly be a healthcare practitioner.”

The CQC’s full report can be read here.