‘Patients should feel safe and cared for in our hospitals’

The head of the hospital trust that runs the William Harvey is staying put as it is placed into special measures, despite calls for heads to roll.

Defiant chief executive Stuart Bain, main picture, and his fellow board members will weather the storm of controversy surrounding a damning Care Quality Commission report, which called for urgent improvements to be made.

This week, government health regulator Monitor followed a recommendation by Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Sir Mike Richards, to place the east Kent hospitals trust into special measures.

However, Mr Bain, who is due to step down at the end of the year for health reasons, thinks it would be “unhelpful” to leave his post sooner amid the crisis.

He explains: “I will be leaving at the end of December in any event, and the trust is already in the process of recruiting a new chief executive.

“I don’t think anyone stepping down would be helpful. A strong, consistent team helps an organisation; there are a lot of organisations where problems are caused by rapid turnover.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for my colleagues, who I think do a good job.”

Monitor took the drastic step after the CQC probe in March found “serious failures” in leadership and patient safety at the William Harvey, the QEQM Hospital in Margate and the Kent and Canterbury.

If he does not make the necessary improvements, Monitor could force Mr Bain’s hand and replace him and other members of the trust’s leadership team.

Monitor’s regional director Paul Streat said: “The trust needs to urgently improve the safety of care for patients, and strengthen its management to better support frontline staff.

“By putting the trust into special measures we can ensure they turn things around quickly.

“Senior leaders need to listen to and work with all staff to understand and tackle problems on their wards.

“We will help the trust to do this, and to make lasting improvements to the services that people in east Kent rely on.”

The trust will now be forced to follow a strict package of measures and answer to an improvement director appointed to hold it to account.

It will also have to publish monthly updates of the changes it is making to improve the services it offers to patients, and carry out reviews of its leadership and the way it measures patient waiting times.

Mr Bain described Monitor’s decision as “a foregone conclusion”, but said the trust had already made major improvements, some of which were in progress before the inspectors even visited.

He explained: “I believe we have already addressed many of the issues that were raised by the CQC report. Before the inspectors arrived in March, we had approved a £2.9 million investment to recruit 69 nurses, 55 of whom have been recruited already.”

He said four new surgeons had also been taken on, new appointment booking systems were being introduced and £28 million had been invested in services including a new hospital in Dover.

But while he said the inspectors’ findings may have been different had they visited the hospital a few months later, he admitted that some of the planned measures were likely to take longer to bed in.

These include restructuring outpatient services, which Mr Bain says will modernise facilities and help staff to cope with an expected surge in patients.

He explained: “These are things I can’t do tomorrow, as they require a level of planning and consultation.

“Other issues we need to address will form part of an action plan we will agree by September 23. That will set out what steps we’re taking and what time frame they can be achieved in.”

While he acknowledged there was plenty of room for improvement, Mr Bain highlighted the more positive aspects of the report and the trust’s record in general.

He said: “A lot of what we do for patients is good quality. The patient stories included in the CQC report are positive and supportive.

“We have a 20% lower mortality rate than the average for England. A lot of the outcomes for patients are significantly better than most other trusts in the country.

“Patients should feel safe and cared for in our hospitals. They are being treated by dedicated, caring staff but there are things we need to put right and we will continue to strive to do better.”

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