National regulators say CWP is outstanding for caring

Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has maintained its Care Quality Commission outstanding rating for caring, alongside an overall rating of Good.

Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP), which was inspected between January and March 2020, remains the only Trust across Cheshire and Wirral with Outstanding for Caring overall; and the only mental and community health services trust in the North West to be Outstanding for Caring overall.

Sheena Cumiskey, CWP Chief Executive, said: “Recent months have been particularly difficult for so many people and of course the NHS as a whole. Despite the unprecedented challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m delighted to retain our rating of Outstanding for ‘Caring’. This highlights the shared values that underpin everything we do at CWP, even in the toughest of circumstances”.

Out of the five key domains used by CQC to evaluate services (Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led), CWP’s overall rating for ‘Safe’ has risen from Requires Improvement to Good, while the Trust maintained its Good ratings for ‘Effective’, ‘Responsive’ and ‘Well-led’ – alongside the Outstanding rating for ‘Caring’.

The Trust – which was also recognised for improved staffing and incident management – saw the rating for its child and adolescent mental health wards rise from Good to Outstanding overall, while retaining its rating of Outstanding for Learning Disability inpatient services.

Sheena continues: “I’m also delighted we have been recognised as outstanding within child and adolescent mental health and learning disability. This is fantastic recognition for the hard work of everyone at Team CWP and I thank everyone for their unwavering dedication.”

Mike Maier, CWP Chair, says: “We are so pleased with the incredibly positive feedback and have plans in place to address identified areas for improvement. We will continue to work hard towards our aspiration of becoming overall an Outstanding Trust.”

Elsewhere in the inspection report, the Trust received recognition for its person-centred culture, the high level of integrity shown by senior leaders, its commitment to patient and carer involvement, its focus on quality improvement and the support available to its workforce:

• The trust board and senior leadership team had the appropriate range of skills, knowledge and experience to perform its role. The trust board and leadership team demonstrated a high level of integrity. High priority was placed on doing the right thing for patients, staff and the organisation as a whole.
• In the majority of services we inspected, leaders were visible in the services and approachable for patients and staff. Staff felt supported by their managers and felt they could raise concerns or approach managers for support.
• The trust’s strategy, vision and values underpinned a culture that was person centred. There was a strong commitment to patient and carer involvement and the trust was moving toward co-designing policy and process with patients and carers.
• The staff in all areas had adopted and embedded quality improvement initiatives and were using data to improve the quality of service.
• Sheena Cumiskey named in the HSJ’s top 50 CEO’s list 2019
• CWP provides health and care services including mental health, learning disability, community physical health and all-age disability care – including the provision of three GP surgeries, all rated Good in latest CQC inspection
• The Trust has services across Cheshire and Wirral, as well as Trafford, Warrington, Bolton, Halton and Liverpool – and provides specialist services for the North West as a whole.
• To find out more about CWP NHS visit www.cwp.nhs.uk

Pictured – CWP Occupational Therapy Team