‘Inadequate’ hospital ‘sorry’ as standards decline even further
AFAILING hospital trust will remain in special measures after a damning report by inspectors found ‘an extremely concerning’ decline.
In a report published on Tuesday, Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors rated Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital ‘inadequate’ after concerns about A&E including severe crowding and low staffing levels of consultants and nurses.
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, will now remain in special measures for a further three to six months and has been ordered to take urgent action to improve.
Inspectors visited the Alexandra Hospital, the Worcester Royal and Kidderminster Hospital in November and December – with all three rated inadequate. At the Alexandra, patients arriving by ambulance were waiting up to two hours in corridors before being seen because of severe crowding, the report stated.
Chief Inspector of Hospitals Professor Sir Mike Richards said: “We found a number of serious problems when we inspected the services run by Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. Rather than getting better, our latest inspection shows a noticeable decline in ratings.
“The trust has been in special measures since December 2015 with little evidence of improvement to date. For this reason I have recommended an extension of special measures as a new executive team has recently been put in place. During our December inspection, we rated the trust inadequate for safety, responsiveness and being well-led. This is extremely concerning, both in terms of the quality of care that people can expect from the trust, and for what it says about the trust’s ability to improve. This situation must not be allowed to continue and we are considering, along with partner agencies, the best option available in order to improve services rapidly for the local population.”
The report also highlighted concerns over medicine storage, emergency response times, and the use of ‘aging and unsafe radiology equipment’. It also criticised management and leadership, with many staff unable to recognise interim board members. Despite the criticism, the Trust was rated ‘good’ for its end of life care, critical care, and compassion of staff.
Trust chief executive Michelle McKay, who was parachuted in last September from Australia, said she was sorry that the Trust “had let down patients”.
She said: “We are disappointed with the CQC’s findings, but we fully accept them. I am sorry our patients, their families and carers have been let down. We want all our patients to get the best care possible and regret that this isn’t currently always happening, but we’re determined to put things right.”