• Organisation
  • SERVICE PROVIDER

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust

This is an organisation that runs the health and social care services we inspect

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 26 February 2020

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust provides acute, emergency and planned care services to a population of approximately 430,000 residents within Cornwall and Isles of Scilly. The population significantly increases during busy holiday periods. The trust employs over 5,500 staff and 600 volunteers and has a budget of around £400 million.

The trust delivers care from five main sites:

  • Royal Cornwall Hospital (Treliske)
  • St Michael's hospital
  • West Cornwall Hospital
  • Helston birth centre
  • St Austell Hospital

The trust has seven care groups:

  • Anaesthetics, critical care and theatres
  • Clinical support
  • General surgery and cancer
  • Specialist medicine
  • Specialist services and surgery
  • Urgent, emergency and trauma
  • Women, children and sexual health

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust is a teaching hospital as part of the University of Exeter Medical School and the University of Plymouth (nursing and dental faculties). It also has a strong research, development and innovation portfolio.

Overall inspection

Requires improvement

Updated 26 February 2020

Our rating of the trust stayed the same. We rated it as requires improvement because:

  • We rated safe and responsive as requires improvement. Effective, caring and well-led were rated as good.
  • Urgent and emergency services remained the same and were rated as requires improvement overall. Safe and responsive stayed the same and were rated as requires improvement. Effective went down one rating and was rated as requires improvement. Caring and well-led stayed the same and were rated as good.
  • Medical care remained the same and was rated as requires improvement overall. Safe and responsive were rated as requires improvement. Effective, caring and well-led were rated as good. Responsive and well-led both improved one rating.
  • Surgery remained the same and was rated as requires improvement overall. Safe and responsive were rated as requires improvement. Effective, caring and well-led were rated as good. Effective and well-led both improved one rating.
  • Maternity improved one rating to good overall. Effective, caring, responsive and well-led were rated as good. Safe was rated as requires improvement. Well-led improved one rating.
  • End of life care improved one rating to good overall. Safe, effective, caring responsive and well-led were rated as good. Safe, effective, responsive and well-led improved one rating.
  • Outpatients improved one rating to good overall. Caring, responsive and well-led were rated as good. Safe was rated as requires improvement. Effective was not rated. Responsive and well-led improved one rating.
  • The remaining core services were not inspected at this inspection and their previous ratings are therefore unchanged.