The inspections, carried out in April and May under the CQC’s new Single Assessment Framework, focused specifically on the care provided to children and young people across both hospitals.
Inspectors awarded Good ratings across all five assessment areas – Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led – recognising the quality of care being delivered and the significant progress made since previous inspections.
During the visits, inspectors spoke with colleagues, patients, parents and carers, observed care, reviewed patient records and considered a wide range of evidence about how services are led and delivered.
The reports praise the compassion and professionalism shown by colleagues, describing a caring culture where children, young people and their families are treated with kindness, dignity and respect.
Inspectors found children generally received timely care from skilled multidisciplinary teams, with strong safeguarding arrangements, positive leadership and an open culture that encouraged learning from incidents and continuous improvement.
The CQC also recognised improvements in areas that had previously been identified for development, including the support available for children experiencing mental health crises, stronger governance arrangements and improvements in safety, with Children’s Services at Doncaster Royal Infirmary improving from Requires Improvement to Good for the Safe assessment.
As with any inspection, the reports also identify opportunities to improve further. These include continuing to strengthen compliance with some mandatory training requirements, improving how actions arising from audits are tracked and embedding longer-term strategic planning for children’s services.
The Trust has already begun work to address these areas as part of its wider quality improvement programme.
Karen Jessop, Chief Nurse at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals, said: “These reports are a real credit to everyone involved in caring for children, young people and their families across our hospitals. They recognise the commitment, compassion and professionalism our colleagues demonstrate every day, often in very busy and challenging environments.
“We’re particularly pleased that the CQC has recognised the progress we’ve made since previous inspections. The improvements highlighted in safety, leadership, governance and patient experience reflect a huge amount of work from colleagues across many different teams, and most importantly they mean better care for the patients and families who rely on our services.
“At the same time, we know there is always more to do. We welcome the areas identified by inspectors where we can continue to improve and have already started work to build on this progress. Quality improvement is never about reaching a finish line; it’s about continually challenging ourselves to provide the safest, highest quality care possible.”
The inspections focused specifically on Children’s Services and do not represent a full reassessment of either hospital. While the overall hospital ratings remain unchanged, the Good ratings for Children’s Services provide important recognition of the progress made in those services and will contribute to the evidence considered by the CQC in future assessments of the wider organisation.
