Last updated at 16:47, Friday, 16 November 2012

FURNESS General Hospital bosses have vowed to continue improving as a new study reveals the quality of care for pneumonia and hip and knee surgery has fallen over the last four years.

Across the North West, hospital trusts are assessed by the Advancing Quality programme, which aims to improve quality and outcomes for heart attacks, hip and knee replacement surgery, pneumonia, heart failure and heart bypass surgery.

While quality has improved overall across the region by up to 30 per cent, it has fallen in two areas at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Foundation Trust (UHMBT), which runs FGH.

Latest results show for pneumonia patients, quality at the trust for 2011/2012 stands at 73 per cent – down from 83 per cent in 2008. Hip and knee surgery ratings fell minimally, from 92 per cent in the first year to 91 per cent this year.

Improvements at the trust were noted in other areas, however, with heart attack quality ratings up from 89 per cent in the first year to 96 per cent in 2011/2012. The rating for heart failure has remained constant at around 53 per cent.

George Nasmyth, UHMBT medical director, said: “The data for these conditions are not as good as we would wish them to be, and the trust is working hard to ensure that we continue to improve our performance.

“The general trend in most clinical areas has been one of improvement, but we are aware of weaknesses and we have been targeting these specifically. For example, in respect of the indicators for pneumonia and heart failure we are focusing on both the advice we give to patients on discharge from hospital and on smoking cessation which are weak and need to be improved.

“In respect of stroke care our focus has been on providing the right facilities for patients with acute stroke to ensure they get the care they need promptly from a team who have had specific training in the most up to date management of acute stroke. As these facilities have only recently become operational, the anticipated improvements have yet to be seen in the indicators reported by AQuA.”

Meanwhile, the Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust received the only 100 per cent rating across the region for treatment of dementia patients.

Valerie Provan, head of nursing for mental health and learning disabilities for Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said she was delighted the trust had received the highest rating.

“We are always striving to make sure people in Cumbria who require specialist dementia care receive the best service we can provide, and I am very pleased that this is reflected in these results,” she added.

First published at 16:07, Friday, 16 November 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk