INSPECTORS have returned to the Royal Bournemouth to see if it has improved following last year’s critical report.

The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was one of the first in the UK to face a new-style inspection by the Care Quality Commission after being identified as “high risk”.

CQC spokesman Nick Kerswell told the Daily Echo that a team of nine, including CQC inspectors, doctors, nurses, managers and special advisors, spent three days at the hospital last month.

“We were particularly interested in those areas which were identified in our original report such as medical care, surgical services, A&E and outpatients, to see if the necessary improvements had been made.”

Mr Kerswell added: “It is a very thorough process and we are now going through our findings and will be reporting back towards the end of October.”

The original report, published last December, found that medical care, including older people’s care, was inadequate.

Other services that also required improvement included accident and emergency, surgical services and outpatients.

Paula Shobbrook, Director of Nursing, said: “The CQC assessors were welcomed on to our wards and into our departments. They commented on how positive our staff were and fed back that improvements could be seen across the hospital. We are completely focused on providing excellent care for every patient, every day, everywhere and have worked with our staff to make a number of improvements to drive up quality.

“We have also created our ‘dignity pledges’ so our patients know what they can expect from us and can challenge us if these important standards are not met. The feedback we have had from our patients has been really encouraging and each week we provide a quality update so they can keep informed about our progress. We now await the formal feedback from the CQC.”

For more, visit rbch.nhs.uk.