A hospital serving patients in north Suffolk has been praised for providing good care.

Health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated services at the James Paget University Hospital as ‘good’ following a four-day inspection in August.

The hospital, which provides care to a population of 230,000 across Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Waveney, was recognised for several areas of outstanding practice – but inspectors also found room for improvement in other departments, including patient record keeping.

Bosses said the report demonstrated good progress at the hospital, highlighting strengths while indicating areas requiring improvement.

During the inspection, staff were observed to be consistently compassionate and kind, allowing patients privacy and dignity. Inspectors witnessed examples of staff and patients having “genuine rapport”.

Families were kept up-to-date, while systems were in place to ensure information also flowed from wards to the board.

Professor Sir Mike Richards, chief inspector of hospitals, said staff at the NHS Foundation Trust were “dedicated, kind, caring and patient focused”, and that the executive team had also impressed inspectors.

“The board was aware of where its challenges and successes lay and it actively managed any challenges and had put in place actions to mitigate these,” he added. “Trust executives were well known to staff and led them through an open door policy and staff were positive about the interactions with the senior management team.”

Inspectors said the hospital must ensure that all records are up-to-date and reflective of patient’s needs, that a non-executive director be put in place for end-of-life care, and that all Do Not Attempt CPR orders are completed fully and in line with national guidance. An alternative to the Liverpool Care Pathway for dying patients must, meanwhile, be put in place for people receiving end-of-life care, and that all equipment must be checked at a frequency as per trust policy.

Hospital chief executive, Christine Allen said the outcome was testament to the teamwork and dedication shown of staff.

She added: “The CQC inspection and report provides us with a useful benchmark with which we can measure our service as a whole – and our progress towards achieving our vision of being a well-led organisation delivering compassionate and safe patient care through an engaged and motivated workforce.

“I believe the report demonstrates that we have made good progress and highlights areas where we have strengths.

“It also shows us where improvements are needed and we are already taking action to strengthen those areas, so that we can further improve the quality of service we offer our patients.

“We can demonstrate a culture of continuous improvement over the last two years, which we will continue with the support of our staff and stakeholders.”