Glowing report for Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has praised the hospital for the way it carries out surgical checks in a newly-released report.

Last year, inspectors judged the hospital was coming up short in two of the five categories it was assessed on.

The criticisms – which included that the hospital had inconsistent practices and was increasing the risk of harm to people during surgery – led directly to the foundation status rejection.

Health regulator Monitor approves bids for foundation status, which gives trusts more freedom in the way they are run. But, after the latest report, which saw the Royal Wolverhampton

NHS Trust pass all five categories, bosses will be free to bid again to Monitor.

An inspection was carried out in January on four wards and the hospital’s endoscopy suite.

In particular it observed that staff were now implementing the World Health Organisation (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist, which was introduced to improve standards of surgery and prevent unnecessary deaths.

The list consists of safety checks which are completed during a patient’s theatre journey. It is part of a series of measures which aim to prevent ‘never’ events – serious, largely preventable incidents which should not occur if preventative measures have been implemented.

The trust was given the green light for its cleanliness and infection control, the safety, availability and suitability of equipment and supporting workers. It also passed the two standards it failed last year – care and welfare of patients and assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision.

The trust was praised for its interaction between staff and patients, hygiene precautions, record-keeping and training of staff.

Bosses will now return to Monitor later this year to apply for foundation status.

Follow our 24-hour live update from A&E at New Cross until 6am tomorrow or follow @EandS_Wton on Twitter. See a full report in Monday’s Express & Star.