Statement on improved Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating for children’s and young people’s services at Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHC)

Healthwatch Birmingham is pleased to see that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has upgraded the overall rating of services for children and young people provided by Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHC) from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’. During a visit to Allens Croft Child Development Centre last year, parents and carers told us about long waits for appointments and difficulties accessing health visitors as a result of the low staffing levels which the CQC had previously identified. High quality services for children and young people are essential in preventing health inequalities becoming entrenched at an early age, so we commend BCHC for taking proactive steps to address these issues so that patients and their families can receive safe, effective and responsive care.

We note, however, that the CQC states that there is still room for BCHC to improve the collection of feedback from service users. As the voice of patients in the city, Healthwatch Birmingham understands how crucial listening to people’s experiences is for the development and delivery of effective care. We therefore encourage everyone who uses BCHC services to share their experiences with us, so we can support the Trust in its ongoing improvement.