Hove hospital judged 'outstanding' by health watchdog

The private hospital deals with orthopaedics, cancer care, general surgery, cardiology, gynaecology and urology, among other services, and has eight consulting rooms, three operating theatres and an endoscopy suite, as well as 20 inpatient rooms.

The CQC carried visited the hospital in an announced inspection during January, and followed up with an announced inspection in February.

The hospital came in for praise over its proactive approach to feedback, and the inspectors said: “There was long-standing, consistent evidence that staff actively sought out patient and visitor feedback and made substantive improvements to the service as a result.”

This included the implementation of a patient experience committee and patient forums led by former patients and their relatives.

Changes brought about because of patient feedback included the introduction of a lead nurse for pre-assessment, improved discharge pathways, and an initiative from the hospital’s head chef to introduce an on-demand hot meal ordering service so patients could order food at short notice.

And the inspectors praised the staff teams for being 'consistently and demonstrably passionate about and motivated' by the hospital’s vision and strategy for providing quality patient services.

It found the Montefiore Hospital to be 'outstanding' overall, as well as for effectiveness and responsiveness, and 'good' for safety, caring and leadership.

David Eglington, The Montefiore’s recently appointed hospital managing director, said: “I don’t think a single member of the team has been able to stop smiling since we heard this fantastic news.

"This an amazing achievement and reflects a huge amount of work by so many. This rating is not due to one or two individuals, it is a result of high performing, passionate and caring teams throughout our hospital and reflects our motto of `brilliant basics, memorable moments’.

"I am particularly proud that the inspectors highlighted our strong relationship with our patients – welcoming patient feedback and acting upon this to continually improve our services is The Montefiore’s huge strength.”

To read the report in full, visit: www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-522837355