Hospital Found To Be Missing Cancer And A&E Targets

Expert medical negligence lawyers have backed calls from health regulator Monitor for drastic improvements to be made at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, which is currently falling below expected standards in a number of areas.

Monitor called for the hospital, which is the largest in the region, to develop an improvement plan after it consistently failed to meet waiting time targets for A&E and routine procedures and treatment times for cancer patients.

The hospital’s management has agreed to implement an operational improvement plan and to develop a long-term strategy to resolve the issues highlighted by Monitor.

The health regulator has also added a new condition to the hospital’s licence, which means it will be able to take further action if improvements are not made.

Anna Dugdale, chief executive of the hospital said the missed A&E targets were due to the high demand for services in the area.

“Monitor has been investigating our performance on these targets and we have agreed the terms of their requirements and our next steps - many of the measures are already in progress, she added.

Guy Forster, a Partner and medical law expert at Irwin Mitchell, said:

Expert Opinion

For some time now it seems some of the major hospitals in East Anglia have been falling behind in some key areas of services. <br/> <br/>“The latest demands from Monitor will hopefully see the issues highlighted at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital addressed quickly. Patient care should always be the top priority and it is crucial patients in this region are reassured they will be given the best possible treatment in a timely manner. Guy Forster - Partner