Managers have praised staff at Norfolk's second-biggest hospital after it was rated 'good' by a government watchdog.

James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is today given a seal of approval from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an in-depth inspection in August.

Christine Allen, chief executive of the trust, said she was 'absolutely delighted' with the findings.

It marks a strong turnaround from the trust over the last three years after fears over quality and nutrition were raised by the CQC and local GPs.

The trust provides care to a population of 230,000 residents across Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft, and Waveney.

Inspectors praised the trust's staff who were 'consistently compassionate and kind towards patients and their carers'.

The team were also impressed by the experience and knowledge of the senior staff, who had 'the capability and capacity to lead effectively through an open culture'.

Among the trust's successes is having hit the 90pc referral-to-treatment target of 18 weeks from April 2013 to February 2015.

Other areas of outstanding practice included:

- Patient pathways for GP referrals resulted in 97pc of patients not requiring services of the emergency department.

- State-of-the-art equipment for patients with spinal cord injuries and the nursing team were both excellent.

- Outstanding care of patients requiring thrombolysis in the emergency department.

Professor Sir Mike Richards, chief inspector of hospitals, said: 'The trust can be proud of the services that it manages.'

But the trust was told it must ensure all its patient records are up-to-date, and also check its equipment more frequently in line with trust policy.

Inspectors also said not all the relevant patients had their Do Not Attempt Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation notices completed fully, an issue which needed correcting quickly.

Athe trust must improve its current end-of-life care pathway.

A non-executive director must be put in place to oversee that area of treatment, the CQC said.

The trust will submit action plans to the CQC on how they plan to adopt the recommendations.

Ms Allen said: 'This is the result we were hoping for. It is a real achievement.

'This is all down to the hard work and determination of the staff.'

The inspection was carried out by 39 members of the CQC over a three-day period.

And some inspectors returned unannounced to the trust months later to check the quality of services.

They made recommendations in several areas, but none regarding the care provided by staff to patients.

Nick Oligbo, medical director of the trust, said this part of the report was one of the findings which made the management team most proud.

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