Expert Medical Negligence Lawyers Urge Trust To Make Swift And Effective Change To Improve Patient Safety After “Inadequate” Rating By CQC

Medical negligence experts at leading law firm Irwin Mitchell have urged Isle of Wight NHS Trust to make “swift and effective change” to improve patient safety after it was placed in special measures following a damning Care Quality Commission Report.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said Trust bosses “had not made sufficient progress to improve services as required at the last inspection” which took place in 2014.

The Trust was given an “inadequate” rating after the watchdog carried out an inspection to assess services in five areas; safety, responsiveness, leadership, effectiveness and caring.

The inspection covered every aspect of the Trust’s services and found staff shortages in some areas along with outdated and bureaucratic practices.

The CQC inspected the majority of the Trust’s services in late 2016 and early 2017 and the reports were based on a combination of what inspectors found when they inspected the Trust and information given to them by patients and carers, the public, NHS staff and other organisations.

The CQC found staff shortages in some areas along with outdated and bureaucratic practices and concluded that, “the trust had not made sufficient progress to improve services as required at the last inspection” which took place in 2014.

The watchdog also found:

• Some Trust-wide key posts were vacant and the trust employed a large number of locum medical staff.
• Some staff were not up to date with safeguarding training
• Care and treatment did not always reflect current evidence-based practice.
• Staff awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards was variable.
• Patients’ privacy and dignity was not always protected in mental health services wards.
• Staff did not always manage services adequately. This resulted in delays in ambulance handovers and delays in discharge from the emergency department.
• The Trust was missing targets in referral to treatment times and cancelled operations.

The CQC rated safety, responsiveness and leadership as inadequate and effectiveness as requiring improvement. The Trust was rated “good” in terms of whether staff are caring.

Expert Opinion

“Everyone knows that NHS Trusts are under enormous strain, but it is imperative that the Isle of Wight NHS Trust take the CQC’s findings seriously and implements swift and effective action to make the necessary changes and improvements to patient safety.

“In a hospital environment, poor practice can mean the difference between life and death. We see the impact these types of failings can have on patients and their families and it is vital that patient safety is always the number one priority.

“It is also particularly distressing to hear that patients being treated in the mental health wards were not always afforded the dignity and privacy that other patients experienced.

“The Trust also needs to address the issue of unnecessary bureaucracy, and implement an immediate programme of change to improve the safeguarding knowledge and practice among staff.” Justine Spencer - Partner

The NHS 111 and the walk-in GP element of the Urgent Care Service, were inspected at the end of March and won’t be reported on until May at the earliest.

In addition to making a significant number of criticisms the CQC praised staff for their caring approach.

According to the CQC report “staff treated people with dignity, respect and kindness during all interactions. They were compassionate and kind and showed empathy when caring for patients.”

Community mental health services for people with a learning disability or autism and substance misuse services received “good” ratings across the board.