The services were upgraded from inadequate following an inspection in December.

Karen Knapton, CQC deputy director of operations in the North West, said: ‘When we inspected urgent and emergency services at New Royal Liverpool University Hospital, we found a service which was well-led by strong leaders, who had created a positive culture that encouraged staff to put people first to deliver a high standard of care.

‘Staff understood and managed risks to people, so they were cared for in a safe way to meet their needs.'

While the service rating was upgraded, the CQC found breaches of regulation regarding the flow through the department and issues around infection, prevention and control measures.

Knapton noted ‘leaders and staff acknowledged that there were sometimes issues with flow through the department for people being admitted onto a ward, due to delays with people being able to be discharged home. The trust is working with partner organisations and has an improvement plan in place to help address these issues'.

Natalie Hudson, executive managing director of the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, said: ‘Our teams should be incredibly proud of this achievement, which reflects their hard work and commitment to providing the best care possible to our patients in what can be very challenging circumstances. To have their rating go from inadequate to good following an inspection which took place during a very busy winter should be commended and I am pleased the CQC has highlighted the care and compassion shown by our staff, as well as the supportive leadership of the service.

‘Since this inspection took place we have improved our infection prevention and control performance and we will continue to focus on this area. We recognise there are still challenges around patient flow through the emergency department and admitting patients to wards more quickly, and we are working with our system partners to make further improvements and speed up the discharge of patients who no longer require hospital care.'