Expert Comments After Patient Safety Concerns Emerge

By Rob Dixon

A lawyer representing people who have suffered as a result of substandard care and errors in treatment have said it is vital improvements are seen in patient safety at Whipps Cross University Hospital, following warnings from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The organisation has issued three formal warnings to Barts Health NHS Trust after unannounced inspections at the Leytonstone hospital in May and June raised concerns regarding cleanliness and infection control, safety and suitability of equipment and support to staff.

According to the CQC, the hospital was failing to meet 10 out of 16 national standards for quality and safety.

Ian Christian, a Partner and specialist in medical negligence at Irwin Mitchell’s London office, said it is vital that steps are taken to tackle the concerns and ensure standards improve across the board.

He outlined: “The NHS has a responsibility to ensure patients are given the care and support they need, so to see concerns of this nature raised by the CQC is clearly unacceptable and they have to be addressed.

“The past few months have not been easy for the NHS, but if anything has been learned, it is that patient safety has to be a fundamental priority and everything possible should be done to ensure there is transparency and accountability across the organisation.

“These issues highlighted by the CQC will have undoubtedly raised some concerns among the local community and they will be desperate for reassurances that the issues have been identified and are being tackled.

“We also hope that steps are taken to learn from the issues raised here, with safety improving across the NHS as a whole as a result.”

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