Overall rating for this core service

Overall, this core service was rated as good. We found the New Epsom and Ewell Community Hospital was good for safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.

We inspected the regulated activities of diagnostic and screening procedures and treatment of diseases, disorders and injuries.

The provider, Central Surrey Health has been established as a social enterprise and the staff working for this organisation are co-owners and will be referred to as such throughout the report.

Our findings were as follows

• Systems to report incidents were used effectively and when indicated, practice was changed.

• Generally, patients received their medicines safely and there was good governance of medicines.

• Facilities were well maintained and there were good infection prevention and control practices which staff understood.

• There were systems for assessing and mitigating risks and initiatives were taken to keep patients safe within the hospital.

• Care was provided in line with national best practice guidance. A rolling programme of local audits ensured standards of care were maintained. Patient outcomes were monitored.

• There was a continued focus on professional development and clinical competence of co-owners and their performance was appraised.

• There was good multidisciplinary working with access to specialist services when required. The team worked cohesively.

• Patients were very positive about their experience. They were treated with kindness and respect and were included in decisions relating to their care and treatment.

• Services were planned and delivered to meet individual needs and ensured a focus on rehabilitation in an environment that was appropriate.

• There was a shared vision and philosophy of care in the service which supported a multi-disciplinary approach with strong co-ownership engagement. Senior leaders were visible and co-owners were positive about the leadership structure.

• During our inspection we spoke with six patients who were using the service and one of their relatives. We spoke with 15 co-owners including nurses, doctors, and therapy and administrative staff.

During our inspection of The New Epsom and Ewell Community Hospital (NEECH) we spoke with patients, staff and one relative. We also observed care practices and looked at records.

Patients we spoke with told us that staff were very kind, caring and treated them with respect. We observed this during our visit.

We saw that patients chose how they spent their time. One patient told us “There are things that I can do if I want to, but I choose to stay in my room most of the time.” Staff respected patient’s choices and provided a flexible service according to their individual needs.

We saw from the records that we looked at that the provider ensured that information that related to patients was shared appropriately with other professionals.

We saw that the hospital had processes in place which ensured that the premises were suitable and safe for the patients.

We looked at records to see that staff had received all of the training appropriate to their roles and confirmed that this was the case. Staff that we spoke with told us that they felt supported.

There were effective systems in place to monitor complaints. We saw that the provider recorded all complaints and resolved them where they could to the patient’s satisfaction.