Inspectors say urgent changes needed at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
Inspectors say 'urgent changes' are needed at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) following their latest visit.
A new Care Quality Commission report says urgent changes are needed at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH).
Inspections were carried out at the Princess Royal Hospital and the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on 9 and 10 June and focused on general medical and end-of-life care. Both hospitals were rated inadequate on every measure.
During their visit inspectors highlighted failing leadership and normalisation of poor patient care. They uncovered issues previously identified which had not been addressed and new areas of concern.
Competency of staff in some roles was criticised and national guidance is not being followed for some procedures. A lack of patient record accuracy was also highlighted.
The CQC has issued the trust a warning notice to improve in key areas by no later than September 30.
SaTH is currently rated as inadequate by the CQC. It was put into special measures by NHS improvement in November 2018, meaning inspectors no longer trusted it to run itself alone.
Poor patient care normalised
The CQC’s chief inspector of hospitals, Professor Ted Baker, said: “We have repeatedly called for intervention to support improvement at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust.
“Despite this, the trust has not resolved long-standing known issues, and poor patient care has been normalised. This situation must not continue.
“The trust has not responded satisfactorily to previous enforcement action.
“So I welcome their improvement alliance with University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which has been prompted following further intervention and enforcement action from CQC.
"This is the first step towards implementing the urgent changes that are required. We will continue to carefully monitor the trust to determine whether this drives the required change and will take further action if there is no progress.
“The trust’s board is fully aware of the essential improvements it must deliver and we continue to monitor the trust, including through further inspections.”
Action being taken to improve performance
SaTH said it was taking immediate action to improve performance and delivery of care.
Louise Barnett SaTH’s chief executive, who joined the trust earlier this year, said: “We welcome the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) report and accept all the findings following their inspection in June.
“I am determined we now take immediate action to ensure a significant improvement in performance and delivery of care at SaTH.”
Improvement Alliance
Last week it was announced that SaTH has entered into an Improvement Alliance with University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.
The University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust will provide leadership expertise that will support SaTH to offer clinically safe and sustainable patient services.
