HOSPITAL bosses have praised the dedication of staff following an inspection by the health watchdog.

The Care Quality Commission inspected medical and urgent care services at Furness General Hospital, finding some areas required improvement.

But chiefs from the trust that runs the hospitals said they were 'pleased' with the inspectors' findings and praised the workforce.

Inspectors highlighted improvements to the pathway for stroke patients, the management of safety incidents and the 'compassion and kindness' shown by staff to patients.

READ MORE: Inspection finds care at Furness General Hospital 'requires improvement'

Bridget Lees, the Morecambe Bay NHS trust's executive chief nurse, said: “As with all NHS colleagues, our teams have dealt with some incredibly difficult times over the last two years, but despite that, they have managed to make some fundamental changes and improvements to the services we offer to local communities.

"We are pleased to see that the inspectors witnessed this change themselves and were able to highlight some improvements from the last time they visited us.

“I am especially pleased to see that inspectors witnessed the improvements to our stroke services at both the RLI and FGH. They also reported the compassionate and dignified care our teams offer to patients, how our teams work together and with other agencies when needed to care for patients, and the support given to teams by their colleagues and leaders.”

Inspectors said medical care 'requires improvement' and criticised staff for not always following best practice when prescribing, giving and storing medicines.

They also said they were not always enough medical, nursing and support staff with the right qualifications, skills, training and experience.

Chief executive Aaron Cummins said: “The reports shows that the hard work of our colleagues is starting to have a real impact on the quality and safety of the services we offer to our patients - especially within our stroke and medicine services.

"It also acknowledges the compassionate care that our teams offer to patients despite the pressures they are often under.

"I want to thank all of the teams across the Trust for their unwavering support and dedication to our patients that has led to us making the improvements seen by inspectors.

“However, we know we have more to do so the next step is to carry on doing what we are doing but at a faster pace where possible.

"To do this, we will continue to work with partners across Lancashire and South Cumbria and as part of the national Recovery Support Programme to focus on those areas that will further improve services for local communities.”

The North West Ambulance Service was also inspected by the CQC.

Salman Desai, the NWAS deputy chief executive, said: “Emergency and urgent care services across the country have been working under significant pressures for several months.

"Despite the increased demand, we are pleased that the feedback from the CQC inspection was mainly positive. Of course, we continue to look to get better, and we're already taking action alongside our healthcare partners to improve the experience for patients and ensure they receive the care they need as quickly as possible.

"Once again, I would like to thank our dedicated staff for their continued hard work during these ongoing pressures.”