NHS Gloucestershire Welcomes CQC Annual Health Check

15.10.2009

Chief Executive of NHS Gloucestershire, Jan Stubbings explained that the comprehensive assessment provided a basis for action on improving the health and well being of local people and their experiences of NHS services.

The main findings are consistent with NHS Gloucestershire’s own priorities for improving performance and developing health services for patients over the next three years.

The Quality of Commissioning rating includes:

• core standards on safety, clinical and cost effectiveness, governance, patient focus, accessible and responsive care, care environment and amenities, and public health, and

• national targets on improving the health of the population for 2008-2011.

Jan Stubbings said:

“These ratings are testament to the hard work and dedication of NHS staff who work in primary care, in the community, in local hospitals and in a range of support roles.

“We have achieved a lot over the past year and have met many of the national targets including inpatient and outpatient waiting times, access to primary care, Chlamydia screening rates and the number of people accessing services to help them give up smoking.

“We know we have areas where we need to make significant improvement and we are working closely as a health community to achieve this. This includes A&E waiting times and response times for ambulances.

“We are very ambitious for our patients and want to deliver excellence across the board so we will continue to work hard to deliver on this.”

Commenting on the Good score for Quality of Financial Management, Jan said:

“We are pleased that our score this year reflects the hard work and effort that has been made by staff to ensure that we remain on a firm financial footing, particularly in view of the challenging times ahead.”

“We have always acknowledged the need to get the balance right between meeting important priorities and targets for improving patient care, whilst ensuring we achieve value for money for every penny and every pound spent on healthcare.”

“We would also like to congratulate the provider Trusts in the county for the many achievements they have made over the last 12 months.”