The Trust which runs Gloucestershire’s three main hospitals has gone from ‘requiring improvement’ to ‘good’, a health watchdog has said.

The Care Quality Commission’s inspection at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and Cheltenham General Hospital shows that 90.5 per cent of services are now rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, compared to 72.5 per cent at the last inspection in January 2017.

Stroud Maternity Unit had been rated ‘good’ in a previous inspection and maintains that status.

When CQC inspectors visited the county in 2017, reviews of safety, effectiveness and responsiveness were rated ‘requires improvement’. The reviews of caring and well-led resulted in ‘good’ ratings.

The inspectors have now rated services as safe and the Trust was judged to be caring in all areas of service.

Recent changes to service provision between Gloucestershire and Cheltenham hospitals, such as placing all scheduled trauma and orthopaedic appointments in Cheltenham, was commended by CQC, the Trust said.

The news comes months after the Trust was taken out of special financial measures by NHS Improvement.

The Trust had been in the red from 2016 to November 2018.

CQC’s inspection report is due to be published today, and a full report from the LDRS will follow.

Deborah Lee, chief executive of Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The most gratifying part of this report is the recognition of the contribution our staff have made to these significant improvements in the safety and quality of care given to our patients. I also hope it will be reassuring for our patients who rely on the quality of our services, to know that they officially in ‘good’ hands.

“In achieving this huge milestone we join a group of just 33 per cent acute Trusts who have achieved this rating or better and completes the ‘hat-trick’ of all three NHS healthcare providers in Gloucestershire being rated ‘good’ overall by the CQC.

“The inspectors’ insights also provide a valuable opportunity to further improve services for patients and will be a tremendous source of motivation for our staff to aim even higher.

“Of particular importance is the residual ‘requires improvement’ rating for the responsiveness of our services – a reflection of the long waiting times experienced by some patients. This is an area that is achieving huge focus in the Trust and I am confident that our plans to improve waiting times will improve significantly. This has been demonstrated most recently with the achievement of the two week cancer waiting time standard (for the first time in more than two years).

“We want our ‘good’ rating to be a stepping stone on our journey to an ‘outstanding’ rating at our next inspection. The best organisations are continuously striving to improve and our focus will remain in achieving this outcome for our patients in Gloucestershire.”

Steve Hams, director of quality and chief nurse of the Trust, said: “I am particularly proud of the extent to which the whole organisation has focused on delivering better experience and outcomes for our patients. Our nursing, midwifery and AHP teams have demonstrated exceptional leadership and I am delighted that this has been recognised by the CQC. We acknowledge there is more to do to ensure every patient has the very best responsive service to meet their health and care needs, and we are united in our commitment to Best Care For Everyone.”

Accountable officer at NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group and Integrated Care System (ICS) lead, Mary Hutton said: “We would like to congratulate Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – the staff and leadership – on achieving their overall ‘Good’ rating and for the progress that continues to be made across the organisation for the benefit of patients. This news is worthy recognition of the commitment to put excellent patient care, experience and safety at the heart of day to day work and in planning for the longer term.

“The Trust’s ‘journey to outstanding’ is an integral part of One Gloucestershire’s wider ambition to make this county a healthier place to live with the best possible support and services in place when needed.”

The Trust will now develop an action plan to address improvements to be made highlighted in the report. It is also working on a five-year strategy that would see the Trust be rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC.