The Boss Of A Struggling Hospital In Nottinghamshire Has Promised Improvements Will Be Made
The boss of a struggling NHS trust has promised that improvements will be made after a poor Care Quality Commission (CQC) report.Inspectors from the CQC found that while performance at the trust had got better since a damning report from earlier this year, it was still not good enough to take the organisation out of special measures.
The trust, which contains the King's Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield, has been told it will remain in special measures for at least another six months.
Professor Sir Mike Richards, who is the CQC's chief inspector of hospitals, said: "I recognise Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been working hard over the last year to make improvements.
"While we saw signs of improvement, the trust still has some way to go before it reaches the required standard."
Issues raised by inspectors included a lack of equipment and maintenance, inconsistent state of record keeping, poor patient safety and maintenance and non-existent management structures.
Speaking to the Nottingham Post, Paul O'Connor, chief executive at the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said that he was disappointed in the CQC's decision to keep his organisation in special measures.
"However there is clearly still some work to do to ensure mid Nottinghamshire have the best hospital services," he admitted.
In June, the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was praised by the National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network for increasing the number of studies it ran from 70 in 2012-13 to 76 in 2013-14.
A total of 1,113 patients volunteered to take part in clinical trials at the trust and Jonathan Sheffield, chief executive officer of the Clinical Research Network, thanked the Nottinghamshire organisation for its work in furthering the knowledge of science through its research.
However, despite this achievement, hospital bosses will be keen to get the trust back on track and out of special measures as soon as possible.
Expert Opinion
Although some progress has been made, it is alarming that the problems highlighted by the CQC at facilities under the control of the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have not been addressed adequately enough to remove the organisation from the ‘special measures’ scrutiny. <br/> <br/>“It is vital the Trust makes patient safety and care its priority, which means improving standards across the board, getting it out of special measures as soon as possible and providing patients with the level of treatment they expect. <br/> <br/>“Our work on behalf of patients who do not receive the appropriate level of care means we understand the devastating impact such issues can have and it is important the Trust continues to tackle the areas of improvement immediately.” Sarah Rowland - Partner