Southampton NHS trust 'improves substantially' says report

An "inspirational" chief executive has been praised for leading "substantial improvements" at an NHS trust.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust as "good", after a report in 2015 which found it "required improvement".

The CQC highlighted chief executive Fiona Dalton's regular lunches with patients to gather feedback.

It said leadership and critical care at the trust were "outstanding".

CQC inspectors, who visited in January and February, said overseas recruitment had eased a previous "substantial" shortage of nurses.

The trust was running a £9.8m deficit, the report said. although improvement goals were "achievable financially".

Ms Dalton, who has been in post since November 2013, said the report was a tribute to "hard-working" staff.