Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Trust gets new Care Quality Commission rating: here's what they had to say

The Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) has been rated as ‘good’ overall, having been labelled ‘requires improvement’ in the last inspection. The report, which was carried out by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), found improvements at the trust during investigations in July and October, which has led to the ‘good’ rating.

Inspections occurred across all 18 wards and 15 teams across seven in-patient sites and five community locations, with over 50 patients and almost 120 members of staff spoken to. The mental health crisis services and health-based places of safety were changed from ‘inadequate’ to ‘good’ overall, whilst the level of caring has also been rated as good across the acute wards for adults of working age, the psychiatric intensive care units, and the community mental health services for adults - with the latter also receiving a ‘good’ for responsiveness.

Sheila Grant, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said there was progress across the trust. “In terms of improvements, the trust had implemented an initial response service since our last inspection,” she said. “This was a 24-hour telephone mental health service to support people in the community.

“Additionally, we found the mental health crisis teams had access to a full range of specialists to meet the needs of people under their care," she added. "Also, managers made sure staff had the right range of skills needed to provide high quality care to people.”

The report noted that the mental health crisis services and health-based places of safety were outstanding, and that the trusts’ leadership had created a clear vision, with staff benefitting from equality networks and flexible shifts, which has increased retention.

The Chief Executive Officer of the LSCFT, Chris Oliver, said: “Our teams have not only maintained a high level of care during a challenging period across the NHS, but they have also made things significantly better for our patients, showing inspectors how they deliver great care.

“We have seen vast improvements which is great for both our patients and colleagues, but we are not complacent… we remain fully committed to delivering the best for our patients, carers and families.”

Chief Executive for the NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, Kevin Lavery, said that this was a huge achievement for the trust. “This is an important step on the Trust’s improvement journey and recognition of the hard work that has been put in to deliver safe and effective mental health services for people across our region.”