Alder Hey Becomes 'Best in Class, Best in Country'

Independent regulator Care Quality Commission awards highest possible scores to renowned children’s hospital

15^th October 2009

Leading children’s healthcare provider Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust today became ‘Best in Class, Best in Country’ following its award of ‘double excellent’ by the independent healthcare regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The Trust received ‘Excellent’ ratings for the quality of its services and financial management and which builds upon it’s track record of delivering excellence in quality of services which it has held for the last seven consecutive years.

Chief executive Louise Shepherd said “Alder Hey is the only Paediatric Trust in the country to achieve these scores from the CQC. This is a truly fantastic accomplishment and places us firmly at the top of our game – we rank among the very best healthcare providers in the country with only 1.8% of acute Trusts achieving ‘excellence in quality of services’ for the last four consecutive years.

“Most importantly, these results underpin the national role Alder Hey plays in delivering premium healthcare services for children across the country.”

Currently Alder Hey sees and treats around 200,000 children and young people but at present growth rates expects to see demand for its services increase to around 375,000 in 2015. It receives referrals from all over England in addition to large numbers from North Wales and the Isle of Man , from 126 of the 154 referring national Primary Care Trusts. Many of these children require access to the specialist services for which Alder Hey is internationally recognised such as brain and spinal surgery, neuro-medicine and rehabilitation, craniofacial surgery and cancer care.

To continue to deliver excellence as well as meeting future demands in services, the Trust intends to build the UK’s first Children’s Health Park – an iconic hospital in the park which will be a trailblazer showing the NHS at its best – to replace the current Edwardian buildings and Nightingale-designed wards which are overcrowded and unable to meet national guidelines for space and single-sex accommodation.

“The fact that we have become ‘Best in Class, Best in Country’ with the achievement of double-excellent in our current accommodation is a major testament to our staff,” continues Angela Jones, Chair.

“We employ the highest quality health professionals who are attracted from all over the world because of our reputation but who work in cramped and poorly designed facilities – we all look forward to opening our doors to the new hospital on our 100^th anniversary in October 1914.”

The Trust’s business case is currently being assessed by Monitor before going to Treasury for approval to go to market as part of the PFI (Private Finance Initiative) project. There are already a number of major national contractors awaiting the decision because the chance to create a new Alder Hey is being viewed as a project of international importance.

Peer comparison data source Care Quality Commission www.cqc.org.uk

Link to Alder Hey's Official YouTube Channel