Issue - meetings

To update the Board on Royal Oldham Hospital’s A&E Department achieving SCAPE (Safe, Clean and Personal Care) Accreditation.

The Board received a report presenting the journey the Emergency Department at the Royal Oldham Hospital had undergone in achieving three consecutive green NAAS (Nursing Assessment Accreditation System) assessments and reaching SCAPE (Safe, Clean and Personal Care) status.

Julie Winterbottom, Lead Nurse of the Emergency Department, introduced a presentation to the Board which outlined the NAAS process and the 13 Nursing Core Standards, which were scored against the elements of Environment, Care and Leadership with an overall RAG rating being given based on the outcome of each standard. The SCAPE Accreditation was established at Salford Royal Hospital in 2008 and was introduced at Oldham in 2016, with the first assessment undertaken in March 2017. The decision to award SCAPE status to the Emergency Department was approved by the Trust Board on 29^th July 2019.

The Board noted that Oldham was the first Accident and Emergency Department to receive a green rating and consistently improving results and that the Department, originally built for 230 visits per day, was the busiest in Greater Manchester regularly receiving around 315-415 patients a day. Consequently the accreditation would be set as a benchmark for the rest of Greater Manchester.

Members queried what additional processes had been put in place to help achieve Accreditation. The Board was informed that a Senior Sister was on duty on every shift, a safety checklist was required for each patient which ensured the patients safety, and that all forms and information were now being provided in one clear format creating consistency. Members of the Board commented that the Department was the ‘Frontline of the Frontline’ and it was queried whether the Police would be able to work like the Department and improve on the services they provided. An invitation was given to the Police to visit the Department. The Board requested that a letter of thanks and praise be sent to the Accident and Emergency Department on behalf of the Board.

RESOLVED that:

1.    The update in relation to the Royal Oldham Hospital’s Emergency Department achieving SCAPE Accreditation be noted.

2.    A letter of thanks and praise be sent to the Accident and Emergency Department on behalf of the Board.