Like many people, I was feeling a bit glum with this damp summer - and then came some "sunny" news to cheer me up and make me feel very proud yet again of the wonderful people I work with.
Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust has earned yet more praise for excellence in the training of doctors. Earlier this year a survey by the General Medical Council (GMC) found that we were ranked number one in the country by trainee GPs for the quality of our training in obstetrics and gynaeology.
Now, hot on the heels of that, comes an excellent report from the Mersey Deanery Annual Assessment team, which monitors medical training for the University of Liverpool. They say that the training provided by Liverpool Women's is of a high standard and valued by trainees, with 91 per cent
recording high levels of satisfaction.
They describe their recent inspection as "a very positive visit with many areas of good practice observed and reported as highlights." They add: "Senior staff are receptive to trainee feedback and continue to work with them to improve the training experience at LWH. LWH is to be congratulated on the breadth and depth of clinical experience and training provided in a busy unit with a high intensity workload."
As they observe, Liverpool Women's is the busiest obstetric unit across Europe and the neonatal unit with 50 cots is the biggest unit in the NHS. This makes our hospital a very attractive training area for doctors, including specialist registrars and GP speciality trainees who feel they will gain valuable and sometimes unique experience here.
As the Deanery team pointed out, Liverpool Women's can provide an unrivalled breadth of clinical experience which is highly valued by trainees across the specialties. We in turn are proud of the high level of training that we can offer those who choose our hospital. I would like to congratulate all those involved led by Dr Devender Roberts, PostGraduate Clinical Tutor and Kathy Smith, Manager of our Education Centre.
In their report, the Deanery team say they found that:
- Clinical and educational support is good with staff willing to teach and train.
- Trainees feel well supported and supervisors are both accessible and approachable.
- Trainees in all specialties would recommend their posts.
They also point to our high ratings in national surveys and Care Quality Commission reports and the fact that no patient safety issues have been identified or reported. Our visitors were given a tour of the tour of the neonatal unit and said they particularly welcomed the opportunity tosee at first hand the excellent training provided for paediatric trainees.
In summary they conclude that Liverpool Women's offers:
"Universally high training standards valued by trainees with good levels of support and supervision."
"The development of a culture and commitment to multi-professional training, learning and professional development."
"Good team work and multidisciplinary team approach across the clinical and education spectrum."
"The Education Management and development of Faculty The Postgraduate Education Centre has strong Leadership in the PG Clinical Tutor supported by an efficient and well organised Education Manager. The development of the teaching programmes is commended."
This is the sort of news that would make any Chief Executive feel better, no matter what the weather!