The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated medical care services at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital as Good. This is an improvement from the previous rating of Requires Improvement.
This Good rating follows an inspection which took place in October 2024 – inspectors rated the service Good for being Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well Led, and Requires Improvement for being Safe.
CQC inspectors highlighted a warmth and kindness in the care being provided, a culture that encouraged continuous improvement and learning, and how colleagues delivered personalised treatment plans for the complex health and care need of their communities, supporting patients to live independently and adapt to changes in their life.
The CQC also heard positive feedback from partners and stakeholders about collaborative work our teams do to support admissions and discharges. This includes community staff attending daily bed meetings on the medical admission unit, with an emphasis on ensuring patients were discharged to the right place for their needs and taking steps to prevent readmission.
The CQC did highlight areas for improvement, including infection prevention and control and medicines management.
Natalie Hudson, Executive Managing Director of the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, said: “This Good rating is a result of the hard work by dedicated and highly skilled colleagues across our medical care services to make improvements since their last inspection, so that patients can be assured they are getting the best care possible. I’m particularly pleased that the CQC recognised the collaborative work we are doing with our partners, to reduce admissions and improve discharge processes, and ensure that patients receive care in the most appropriate place for their needs.
“The CQC did highlight areas for improvement around hospital acquired infections and medicines management. We are taking steps to address these and will continue to focus on these areas, but this improved rating is a significant achievement that our teams should be very proud of.”
To read the full report, please visit the CQC website.
This was a focused inspection of medical care services and not an overall rating of the hospital, which remains as Requires Improvement. The CQC will need to complete an inspection of all core services for this to change.
This is the fourth of six reports we expect the CQC to publish in the coming weeks, following inspections at Aintree, Broadgreen and the Royal at the start of the year.