A week-long inspection of East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) ended on Friday (17 July).
Interim Chief Executive Chris Bown thanked staff for their cooperation and support during what he described as an ‘intense and probing’ experience for all involved.
He said: “We encouraged staff to talk openly and freely to the 50-plus inspectors who visited our hospitals over the course of the week. They went to many departments and we felt that staff were keen to demonstrate the improvements that have been made since the last inspection. Although it is impossible to predict the outcome of the inspection, I would be disappointed if their report did not recognise progress that has been made.”
He added: “There is still work to do and our improvement journey continues beyond the CQC’s visit. We will continue to make the changes we need to make and will use the inspectors' report when it is published to identify those areas we need to further strengthen and focus on.”
The Trust was placed in special measures following a CQC inspection in March 2014. It will be several months before the outcome of this inspection is published. Each hospital will be rated individually and the Trust will be given an overall score.
Mr Bown said: “I would like to thank all staff who have been involved. For some it has been a challenging time and I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who has taken the time to share their experiences with the inspectors.”
