A Greater Manchester NHS trust has become the second in England to receive two consecutive ratings of outstanding from the Care Quality Commission.
Following an inspection in April and May, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust was found to have outstanding leadership, responsiveness and caring.
Inspectors gave the the trust a good rating for “safety and effectiveness”.
Chief executive Sir David Dalton said it was “great” the CQC had acknowledged the effort staff put in.
The inspectors also looked at the trust’s main institution, Salford Royal Hospital, which was also rated as outstanding for a second time.
‘National exemplar’
They found the trust’s staff were “kind, caring and respectful”, its services “met the needs of local people” and its leadership was “experienced” and “promoted a positive culture”.
They also praised the trust’s work with dementia patients, pointed to its “innovative medicines and pharmacy projects” and said it was a “national exemplar for integrated care”.
However, inspectors also found some room for improvement.
They noted complaints about surgery were “not always responded to in a timely way”, there were “some cultural and staff morale issues in outpatients” and the “storage of medicines was not always consistent”.
Sir David said the consecutive ratings “say something about what the staff contribute to the hospital and our community services”.
He added that it was “great for the city of Salford and great for the NHS in Greater Manchester”.
The only other trust to receive two consecutive outstanding ratings is Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, a mental health care provider.
