STANDARDS of care within Barrow's hospital have been transformed in just three years in a feat labelled 'remarkable' by strict government health inspectors.
Furness General Hospital has today been awarded a coveted good rating by watchdog the Care Quality Commission – along with its parent organisation; the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.
The result means UHMBT, rocked by a national maternity scandal in 2015, has become one of the fastest NHS turnaround trusts in the country having been judged to be inadequate and plunged into special measures just three years ago.
RELATED ARTICLE: Ambitious fundraising appeal launched to make Barrow maternity unit best equipped in the country
But following a tense four day CQC inspection in October, the Dalton Lane site has now been rated as good overall and outstanding in some areas – including for end of life care and for the relationship forged between local families and maternity staff.
The care provided by doctors, nurses and other health professionals is also said to be outstanding.
News of the hospital's success has sparked a wave of celebration among staff at FGH as well as hospital bosses.
Pearse Butler, trust chairman, said: "This is a remarkable achievement, and we all feel enormously proud to work with such committed and talented staff across our hospitals.
"It is incredibly powerful to hear that the feedback the inspectors received from patients and their families about their care was consistently positive and that some staff went the extra mile to care for them.
"We believe that this truly reflects the work that staff across the trust have done to change our culture and focus on patient safety and quality of care."
During the latest inspection, the CQC team spoke to staff working in a range of roles throughout FGH, it's sister site the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal, as well as to patients, their families and volunteers.
They found FGH's end of life care was outstanding – making it one of the best in the country – while all other clinical departments including maternity, children's, outpatients, surgery, medical and critical care were good.
Just one, urgent and emergency services, was said to require improvement following ongoing difficulties in treating, admitting or discharging 95 per cent of patients in A&E within the government's four hour target.
The trust's Listening Into Action scheme, which encourages staff at all levels to put forward ideas for improved services, received particular praise from Professor Sir Mike Richards, CQC chief inspector of hospitals, as well as for efforts to involve Furness families in the design of a new £12 million maternity unit due for completion in December.
Prof Sir Mike Richards said: "Overall, UHMBT has made real progress.
"This is a truly remarkable turnaround for a trust that has faced very significant difficulties. Senior management and staff deserve huge credit for this.
“When the trust was placed into special measures its board and management faced a number of challenges.
"There were issues relating to staffing and improvements were needed with regard to the culture within some of its teams.
“Since that time the trust has made steady progress and, on our return, improvements were particularly evident in maternity, gynaecology and end of life services.
"The trust had implemented recommendations made by Dr Bill Kirkup following his enquiry, to its maternity department and it was clear there was now a more joined up approach at the service."
READ MORE: Walney mum praises Barrow maternity staff for saving son's life
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here