A PRIVATE hospital has been praised in a report into independent health facilities in the UK.

Spire Cheshire Hospital has been highlighted by the Care Quality Commission in its 2018 State of Care Report for Independent Acute Hospitals, which was released last week.

The 50-bed Stretton site is one of only 16 independent acute hospitals in the UK to be rated outstanding by the CQC.

In the report, Spire Cheshire Hospital was praised for ‘championing a proactive approach to raising standards and seeking improvements’.

When it was last visited by the CQC in October 2016, inspectors found that the hospital ‘engaged with the public, community group and staff’ while management ‘inspired and motivated’ employees.

Hospital director Andrew Johnson said: “We are continuously striving for improved patient-led, high quality clinical services.

“We are pleased that the CQC report in particular highlighted Spire Cheshire’s proactive approach to raising standards through effective management and governance structures with patient care being central to everything we do.”

Spire Cheshire Hospital is also one of only such facilities with an outstanding rating in at least three out of five of the CQC’s key assessment areas.

Professor Ted Baker, the CQC’s chief inspector of hospitals, added: “Much of the care and treatment we have seen at independent acute hospitals is good and we found that effective leadership at a local level, good staff engagement and a close oversight of the services being provided played a key role in ensuring high quality care.

“However, our inspectors also identified concerns around the safety and leadership of some services - where we found failings we have been clear that improvements must be made, using our enforcement powers where needed to protect people.

“As the independent quality regulator, we hold all providers of healthcare to the same standards regardless of how they are funded.

“Having inspected all independent acute hospitals in England, we now have a comprehensive picture of the quality of care they are providing for the first time and importantly people can use our reports to help them make choices about their treatment.

“Encouragingly, we have seen clear evidence that our regulation is having an impact, with providers taking rapid action in response to our concerns.

“We want to see this continue and more providers learning from those services that are getting it right.”