Report says hospitals ‘need improvement’
SOUTHPORT Hospital and Ormskirk Hospital have both been rated “requires improvement” following a second critical inspection by the Care Quality Commission.
Community services run by the trust were given the same rating, as were urgent and emergency services, and medical care. Surgery was rated “inadequate”.
Critical care, end of life care and outpatients at Southport were rated good.
The children’s A&E services at Ormskirk Hospital were rated “good” in areas.
The inspection took place to review the progress of Southport & Ormskirk NHS Hospitals Trust following a previous inspection in November 2014, which also identified a number of areas for improvement.
The CQC voiced criticism about sick and injured people having to wait too long to be seen by doctors.
And it discovered some instances of paramedics having to wait up to 11 hours to hand over their patients to overworked A&E staff.
The health watchdog also raised concerns about a lack of nurses, midwives, junior doctors and consultants at both Southport Hospital and Ormskirk Hospital.
The recruitment of suitable medical staff was challenging, with vacancies for junior doctors and consultants, while recruitment and retention of nursing and midwifery had been a longstanding issue.
However, the inspectors found there had been a notable improvement in both the maternity services and the North West Regional Spinal Injuries Centre, which had both received “inadequate” ratings at the last inspection.
The report has been published during a crisis at the trust after its £150,000-a-year chief executive Jonathan Parry was sacked last month for gross misconduct afer being suspended on full pay for 14 months while a series of investigations were carried out.
And a leaked NHS report revealed that Southport’s A&E could be downgraded with reduced opening times as health bosses battle a £900m black hole in Cheshire and Merseyside over the next five years.
Responding to the report, Southport and Ormskirk Hospital Trust said “significant progress” had been made at the A&E and surgery departments since the inspection in April and pointed to improved ratings in the spinal injuries unit.
The CQC found not enough was done to minimise the risk of harm in the surgery department, while patients whose condition was deteriorating were not always spotted quickly enough.
The trust was given an overall rating of “requires improvement” – the same as it scored after its last CQC inspection two years ago.
Chief inspector of hospitals Prof Sir Mike Richards said in a newly published report: “I am disappointed that overall the progress has been limited and that we have found a deterioration in the safety and quality of some of the trust’s services, particularly in the emergency department at Southport and Formby Hospital.
“I note with concern the delays in patients being assessed in the accident and emergency department, and the risks to safety in surgery which must be addressed.
“Since our inspection earlier this year the trust has taken steps to improve – and we are monitoring that on a monthly basis.”
Rob Gillies, executive medical director at Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust, said: “When the CQC fed back to the executive team at the end of their inspection, they said the trust possessed ‘committed, compassionate, and passionate staff who are willing to go above and beyond to do their best for patients’.
“We are delighted to see this confirmed by a good rating for caring.”