The improvements to services and leadership made by teams working at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary have been recognised in an inspection report, published by the Care Quality Commission.
On 15, 16 and 17 July 2025, inspectors from the CQC carried out unannounced inspections of Maternity and Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC) services at the RLI, as well as Furness General Hospital in Barrow and Maternity services at Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal.
The CQC’s assessments show meaningful improvements across the services inspected, with most areas now rated as ‘Good’. Maternity services at all three hospitals have also been rated as ‘Good’ for the first time since 2017.
The overall Trust rating remains ‘Requires Improvement’.
At the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, in Maternity services, inspectors noted better training compliance, stronger safeguarding, improved teamwork across different professions, and more involvement with women and families.
Women said they felt confident in colleagues and had positive experiences during labour and after birth. Governance had improved since the last inspection, and leaders were described as “inclusive and engaged.” Work is underway to address issues with how medicines are managed.
In Urgent and Emergency Care, inspectors found progress in several areas, including the stroke pathway, mental health risk assessments and sepsis management. Colleagues were praised for treating patients with compassion, dignity and respect, and patients consistently highlighted the high quality of interpersonal care.
Teams described strong teamwork and support from colleagues, and safeguarding practice was recognised as a strength. Key areas needing improvement include medicines management, paediatric ED staffing, governance processes and some environmental and layout issues in the Emergency Department.
Overall, the RLI is now rated ‘Good’, improved from ‘Requires Improvement’ at the last inspection in April 2023.
It received ‘Outstanding’ for caring, improved from ‘Good’; ‘Good’ for effectiveness, unchanged from 2023; ‘Good’ for responsiveness and leadership, improved from ‘Requires Improvement’; and ‘Requires Improvement’ for safety, unchanged from 2023.
Scott McLean, Interim Chief Executive, University Hospitals Morecambe Bay NHS Trust, said: “Our teams have worked incredibly hard to significantly improve our services, and we are pleased this has been recognised by the CQC following their recent inspection.
‘’What is especially important to acknowledge is that despite the intense and challenging pressures colleagues are working in - especially in our urgent and emergency care services - they continue to provide compassionate and respectful care. We see this each and every day, but I am pleased it is reflected in the inspection findings as our colleagues deserve to be recognised for their efforts.
“We are proud of the improvements we have made in many areas of our services but as always, there is still more work to do.
‘’The reports highlight some specific areas where we need to do things differently and our teams are already working to make these changes.”
Andrew Stephenson, Chair, UHMBT, said: “Our main priorities are to offer the best possible care to our patients and the best possible experience for those who work with us, and these findings show encouraging progress towards this.
‘’We recognise that this work is far from finished - especially in the challenging environment the NHS is operating in as a whole - but we are confident that we have the right plans and the right people to deliver them.
“On behalf of the Trust, I would like to thank colleagues for their continued hard work and resilience, and for always putting our patients first - your efforts are very much appreciated.”
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