Brighton and Sussex hospitals trust out of special measures

The trust has shown 'real progress' according to the inspector

A hospital criticised after an elderly woman apparently drank cleaning fluid has been taken out of special measures.

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust was put in special measures in August 2016, having previously been rated as inadequate.

The trust runs the Princess Royal in Haywards Heath and the Royal Sussex hospital in Brighton, where Joan Blaber died in September 2017.

The Care Quality Commission said "real progress" had been made since then.

The NHS trust has been rated "outstanding" by the heath watchdog for its quality of care

The commision had told the trust to take steps to protect patients after Ms Blaber's death.

Professor Ted Baker of the CQC said shortcomings had been addressed, and patient care "exceeded expectations".

Staff told inspectors that they had seen a dramatic and positive change in the past nine months and said they felt included in the strategy and overall change.

Ms Blaber, 85, is believed to have thought she was drinking orange juice but instead picked up the cleaning fluid at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

In July the CQC reported the trust had its finances "under control" and took it out of financial special measures, but said it still needed to make improvement in its standards of care.

'Work still to do'

The commission has now rated the trust as "good" overall and "outstanding" for the quality of care. However, it "requires improvement" for being responsive to patients' needs and for using its resources productively.

Marianne Griffiths, chief executive, said: "The 'outstanding' rating for caring tells you everything - staff are fully committed and have always delivered care, I just don't think they've been helped in doing that in the best way.

"This will give a huge left to staff, giving them pride in the organisation. We still have work to do."

Fran McCabe, the Chair of Healthwatch Brighton and Hove, said: "It is an extraordinary achievement in a two-year period to move from being seen as a seriously failing trust to one which is 'good' overall and 'outstanding' for the quality of its care."