Northampton Hospital 'requires improvement' after latest Care Quality Commission inspection

Northampton General Hospital has been told it must do better following an inspection earlier this year by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The hospital was rated as “Requires Improvement” overall with concerns raised over safety and leadership. The Chief Inspector said that it was not meeting standards in some areas, as seen in previous years when it was rated “Good” in 2017.

Professor Ted Baker, CQC Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said: “Although Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust maintained good ratings in some areas, there were others where it was not meeting standards seen previously.”

The CQC found that some staff had not completed mandatory training, which included safeguarding children, training in urgent and emergency care and mental capacity training, to support patients with reduced ability to make decisions, in medical care.

Professor Ted Baker said: “In maternity, there was not always enough staff with the right qualifications, skills and experience to keep people safe from avoidable harm; managers recognised and were addressing this. We also found this service needed to make information about how to complain more accessible."

But the CQC did see a lot of good areas of practice, in particular, the care and treatment shown to patients. Inspectors commended staff for their “compassion” and “kindness” and said staff worked as a cohesive team to benefit patients.