Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust told it requires improvement

The NHS trust runs Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield

A West Yorkshire hospital trust has been told by the health regulator it requires improvement.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected the urgent and emergency care departments at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield and Dewsbury and District Hospital in September.

Both sites, which are run by the Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, were given a "requires improvement" rating.

The Trust said it was "committed to the continuous journey of improvement".

Both hospitals were previously rated as requiring improvement following a 2022 inspection.

The CQC's deputy director of operations in the north, Sheila Grant, said it was "encouraging to find there were some improvements", but "further work was needed".

In both hospitals inspectors found people's risk "wasn't always assessed by staff in a timely manner" and facilities for people with mental ill health did not meet national standards.

Medical care was also inspected at the sites, where inspectors found there were not always enough staff on duty to keep people safe.

"People were sometimes at risk of deterioration because staff didn't always respond quickly enough," they said.

Infection risks were not always controlled "well", nor was the management of medicines, inspectors added.

'Kindness and compassion'

However, staff at the hospitals were praised for the "compassion and kindness" they showed to patients.

In medical care, which included care for older people, the emotional support staff provided was described as "good".

Ms Grant said the CQC would "continue to monitor the trust closely" and would return to carry out another inspection "to ensure any further improvements are sustained and embedded".

In response to the report's findings, chief nursing officer at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust Talib Yaseen said it remained "committed to the continuous journey of improvement we are on".

"I'm proud that we are recognised for treating our patients and their loved ones with kindness and compassion and I want to thank everyone for everything they do to care for our patients every day," he added.