MEDICAL staff within Barrow's hospital have been warned to expect a fresh visit from government inspectors before the end of the year.

Bosses at the trust that runs Furness General Hospital, in Dalton Lane, say it is likely to be reinspected by experts from health watchdog the Care Quality Commission by December as part of its continued move towards improved services.

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Jackie Daniel, chief executive of the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust claims her entire team is now hoping to secure more praise from the CQC after it became the fastest acute hospital trust to move out of special measures last year.

Mrs Daniel said: "We don’t have a date yet for our next CQC hospital inspection but it is highly likely to be this year, possibly after the summer. 

"The Inspection, for me, is an opportunity to again measure our improvement over the last year.

"Each division has been working to a plan in terms of addressing any concerns raised by inspectors, and I know from feedback that these are shared and discussed in departments."

In 2014, the trust was plunged into special measures after inspectors deemed services were inadequate during their visit to its three hospitals - FGH, Westmorland General in Kendal, and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

Last year, CQC inspectors carried out an announced visit to all three sites in July before returning for an unannounced inspection to further scrutinise services offered to patients.

In December, the commission awarded UHMBT an overall rating of 'requires improvement', and found no services were inadequate, while announcing the trust was ready to formally move out of special measures.

A new inspection later this year will allow the CQC to check recommendations made last year for FGH are being acted upon and standards of care are continuing to move in the right direction.

Following the publication of last year's CQC inspection report, the CQC's chief inspector of hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, said: "It is apparent that the trust is on a journey of improvement, and progress is being made both clinically and in the trust’s governance structures."