Princess Royal University Hospital: Have your say tomorrow!

The Care Quality Commission has provided Village News with the following press release. (Note to this Commission: The PRUH is known as the PRUH, not the PURH, unless the Chief Inspector of Hospitals is a pussy cat, so to speak.)

 

"CQC’s new Chief Inspector of Hospitals asks local people to tell him about the care provided by the Princess Royal University Hospital

England's new Chief Inspector of Hospitals is inviting members of the public to tell his inspection panel what they think of the services provided by the Princess Royal University Hospital.

Their views and experiences will help inspectors decide what to look at when they inspect the hospital in Orpington in December.

The trust is one of the first wave of 18 hospital trusts to be inspected under radical changes being introduced by the Care Quality Commission. The formal inspection at the PURH will start on Tuesday 3 December.

The Chief Inspector, Professor Sir Mike Richards, announced in July that he will lead significantly larger inspection teams than before, headed up by clinical and other experts including trained members of the public.

To ensure the views of patients and the local community are properly heard, the inspectors will be holding a listening event (details below):

• Tuesday 3 December: 6:30pm – Crofton Halls, Crofton Road, Orpington, Kent, BR6 8PR

Members of the public are being encouraged to attend the listening event to find out more about the inspection process, to tell the team about their experiences of care and to say where they would like to see improvements made in the future.

Sir Mike said: "The new inspections are designed to provide people with a clear picture of the quality of the services in their local hospital, exposing poor or mediocre care as well as highlighting the many hospitals providing good and excellent care.

"We know there is too much variation in quality – these new in-depth inspections will allow us to get a much more detailed picture of care in hospitals than ever before.

"Of course we will be talking to doctors and nurses, hospital managers and patients in the hospital. But it is vital that we also hear the views of the people who have had care at the Princess Royal University Hospital, or anyone who wants to share information with us.

This will help us plan our inspection, and so help us focus on the things that really matter to people who depend on this service.

“This is your opportunity to tell me and my team what you think, and make a difference to the NHS services in the local area.”

Sir Mike's inspection team is expected to look in detail at eight key service areas: A&E; medical care (including frail elderly); surgery; intensive/critical care; maternity; paediatrics/children’s care; end of life care; and outpatients.

A full report of the inspectors’ findings will be published by the Care Quality Commission later in the year."