15 October 2009 - King’s College Hospital has been rated one of the top hospitals in the country in the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) Annual Health Check results published today.
The Trust, part of King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre, scored the top mark of ‘Excellent’ for the two key performance indicators, Quality of Services and Use of Resources. Last year, King’s scored ‘Excellent’ for use of its resources and ‘Fair’ for the quality of its services.
King’s is one of only 37 Trusts (out of 392) to score ‘Excellent’ for both indicators.
Tim Smart, Chief Executive at King’s, said he was delighted with today’s announcement:
“The progress we have made in the last 12 months reflects the hard work and dedication of King’s staff. I am delighted the Care Quality Commission view us as an organisation which delivers high quality patient services. The fact we have also been able to perform so well financially – whilst also bringing about real improvements in patient care – is particularly pleasing.”
The Annual Health Check is carried out every year by the Care Quality Commission and is used to drive up improvements in patient care.
Each of the two indicators is made up of a number of targets or ‘core standards’ which look at the full mix of hospital and patient services. King’s performance against these targets and the new ‘national standards’ are shown below:
Core standards – Fully met
Existing national targets – Fully met
New national standards – Excellent
Tim Smart added:
“The improvements we have made are there for all to see. Infection control remains a priority, and we continue to see a downward trend in the number of patients with hospital acquired infections. We are also performing well in other key areas. Patients are seen within four hours in the Emergency Department, despite dramatic increases in the number of patients we treat, and we are also treating people within the national 18 week referral to treatment target. Both are challenging but meeting them is an essential part of patient care.”
“Despite this, we are not complacent. There are many areas where we still need to make major changes and improvements. We also face tough challenges in the future as all public organisations do. Together with our Academic Health Sciences Centre partners – who also performed well in today’s results - we are committed to continuing to provide the best possible service for all our patients.”
For more information on the King’s Annual Health Check 2008/09 results, visit www.cqc.org.uk
Notes to editors
1. For further information contact:
Chris Rolfe, Corporate Communications,
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Tel: 020 3299 3006, Fax: 020 3299 3207
e-mail: chris.rolfe@kch.nhs.uk
www.kch.nhs.uk
2. King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching hospitals, with over 6,600 staff providing around 800,000 patient contacts a year. King’s has a unique profile, with a full range of local hospital services for people in the London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark as well as specialist services to patients from further afield. The Trust is recognized internationally for its work in liver disease and transplantation, neurosciences, cardiac and haemato-oncology. King’s also plays a key role in the training and education of medical, nursing and dental students with its academic partner, King’s College London. For more information, visit www.kch.nhs.uk
3. King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is part of King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC), a pioneering collaboration between King’s College London, and Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts.
King’s Health Partners is one of only five AHSCs in the UK and brings together an unrivalled range and depth of clinical and research expertise, spanning both physical and mental health. Our combined strengths will drive improvements in care for patients, allowing them to benefit from breakthroughs in medical science and receive leading edge treatment at the earliest possible opportunity.
For more information, visit www.kingshealthpartners.org
