THE first report on the quality of care provided by Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust shows there is much to be done by its leadership team, with the overall theme suggesting it must do better.

But there was also findings to be heartened by in the report by the Quality Care Commission following its inspection in October and November last year.

For most people who have had direct involvement with staff at the hospitals that the Trust runs, it will not come as a surprise to see caring is described as good.

And it is particularly pleasing for this newspaper to see the inspectors praising the standard of geriatric and palliative care at the Trust. This is an issue we have campaigned for strongly through our With Respect campaign, and clearly the Trust takes these issues very seriously and the care elderly people are getting is of a high standard.

It is also good to see that it is described as improving in other areas and outstanding in some. But there are obviously areas in need of improvement. Safety was rated as 'Inadequate', and effectiveness, responsiveness and leadership were rated as 'Requires Improvement'.

This is clearly concerning, and these areas need to be addressed quickly.

There is a relatively new executive team in place, and obviously it has some work to do in improving the situation.

Let us hope they clearly address the issues outlined here and put plans and structures in place to ensure the next inspection proves much more positive across all areas.