DEDICATED and caring staff are at the heart of dramatic improvements within Barrow's hospital, its leader claimed yesterday.
Jackie Daniel, chief executive of the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, has welcomed the award of a new good rating for the Dalton Lane site from the Care Quality Commission.
But the expert in 'turnaround trusts' described the hard work to completely "rewire" the entire organisation since her arrival at the trust in 2012 as the biggest challenge of her career.
The process saw FGH rated inadequate and plunged into special measures by inspectors just three years ago.
Then in 2015, patient safety expert Dr Bill Kirkup said in the controversial Morecambe Bay Investigation Report that the trust had been added to "a roll of dishonoured NHS names" over failures which led to the deaths of 11 babies and one mother between 2004 and 2013.
Mrs Daniel told the Evening Mail: "When I arrived I could see things were bad, probably worse than I thought.
"I could see that staff didn't believe in themselves and I felt they had been let down.
"I also felt angry that the people who lived in this area didn't have access to good healthcare.
"There was no vision or strategy in place for the organisation, no effective governance structure and massive problems with patient records, missed outpatient appointments and of course, serious failures in maternity.
"It was a complete rebuild, starting with making sure we had a good executive team, people who could bring experience with them."
Mrs Daniel took over the reins of the trust from failed former chief executive Tony Halsall after his resignation in February 2012.
UHMBT was already under the microscope of the CQC, as well as the spotlight of the media.
It was placed onto a strict regime of inspections as the standards of care provided to patients were heavily scrutinised.
Behind the scenes, Mrs Daniel and her executive team prioritised the recruitment of staff, investing more than £7 million in posts to meet safe staffing levels despite knowing it would place the trust under financial pressure.
The organisation and its staff went on to secure improvements at every subsequent CQC rating, moving out of special measures and into 'requires improvement' in December 2015.
Now, following a four day inspection in October and an unannounced return visit in November by the CQC team, UHMBT and FGH have been rated as good overall with outstanding elements.
Mrs Daniel said: "I'm incredibly proud of everything the staff have achieved along the way.
"I've seen them during some dark moments and they have been dedicated and resilient and have just kept going.
"I felt we deserved a good this time.
"Now we know we can't be complacent. There's more we want to do to stay good and achieve even more."
READ MORE: Hospital boss threatened with legal action after exposing midwife whitewash
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here