Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been awarded an overall ‘Good’ rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), recognising significant improvements in patient care, leadership and staff culture across the organisation.
The upgraded rating follows a series of inspections carried out over the past two years across the Trust’s Medicine, Surgery and Planned Care, and Family and Specialist Services divisions.
Inspectors spoke with patients and staff during several visits and praised the welcoming atmosphere, the positive learning culture and the way patients and their families are supported to make informed decisions about their care.
While the Trust’s overall rating has improved, its maternity services remain rated ‘Requires Improvement’. Trust leaders say work is continuing to address the issues identified while maintaining high standards of family-centred care.
The CQC also found that staff were approachable and compassionate, with patients’ communication, personal and healthcare needs being met throughout the services inspected.
The improved rating comes at a time when NHS organisations continue to face sustained pressure from rising demand, lengthy waiting lists and ongoing financial challenges.
Cara Charles-Barks, Chief Executive of the BSW Hospitals Group, said the result reflected the commitment shown by staff across the organisation.
“We are incredibly proud to be rated ‘Good’ by the CQC following a series of inspections of different services. This recognition reflects the unwavering commitment, professionalism and compassion shown by our staff every single day.
“Over recent years, teams have worked hard to strengthen our services and improve the experience of our patients and colleagues. To see these efforts acknowledged is a fantastic achievement, particularly at a time when the NHS continues to face significant challenges.
“We’ve made exceptional strides in innovative patient-centred care, including reducing falls and pressure harm in hospital and introducing additional clinics and utilising digital tools to reduce waiting lists and deliver care to people in the right place, first time.”
Mrs Charles-Barks said maternity services remained a priority despite progress already made.
“In maternity, while we have already made significant steps to address the areas highlighted by the CQC, we will continue to work to improve in this area and will now focus on reviewing all feedback shared to us by families so we can learn more quickly when things don’t always go to plan, making improvements to the environment so women are able to access staff at all times and continuing to provide strong and visible leadership so staff feel well supported.
“We remain ambitious and focused on continuing our journey of improvement to deliver the very best care for our local communities.”
The Trust has already introduced a number of improvements within maternity services, including achieving the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Gold Award, opening a new Transitional Care Unit for babies born between 35 and 36 weeks’ gestation and introducing neonatal oral antibiotics at home, allowing more families to return home sooner with their babies.
Inspectors also highlighted the strong teamwork across maternity services, praising the positive working culture, leadership and staff training despite the service retaining its current rating.
Across the wider organisation, the CQC found that where concerns had been identified during inspections, teams acted promptly to address them and demonstrated a clear commitment to continuous improvement.
The latest rating represents an important milestone for the Trust, which serves Swindon, Wiltshire and surrounding communities, while also underlining that work continues to ensure every service reaches the highest possible standard.
