LEGAL EAGLE: Hospital core services identified as in need of improvement

Unfortunately, the commission identified various issues on patient safety that were related to the hospital’s core services and it decided to carry out an inspection.

The trust’s management were given details of the concerns and they assured the commission that immediate action had been taken.

The commission carried out a second inspection of those core services, but it was identified that significant improvement in some of the areas had not been made.

This meant that the hospitals’ core services that were previously given a rating of ‘good’ were downgraded to ‘requires improvement’. The final report showed there was a significant percentage of the 30 core services provided across seven locations that required improvement.

The concern is not only the below standard service but the failure to address them. A common problem I see as a practitioner in clinical negligence is that the patient risk assessments are often not prepared or, when prepared, are not adequate.

There are many occasions when a failure to properly address risk assessments leads to breaches of the duty of care owed to patients when they are receiving treatment at the hospital.

I expect that following the downgrading of the level of service that the leaders of the trust will do as they stated they would last year and make the necessary improvements to return the hospital to a better rating which may reassure patients.

Should you have concerns about care received at the hospitals in question, or any other hospital for that matter, it is important that these issues are raised with the trust directly.

At Ben Hoare Bell LLP we have a team of dedicated clinical negligence practitioners who can assist with raising complaints. Call us on 0191 565 3112 or email [email protected]. Visit www.benhoarebell.co.uk

NHS FOUNDATION TRUST RESPONSE

A statement from South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust acknowledged what had been an incredibly testing time for staff.

“There is no doubt that the past few years have been incredibly tough but there can be no excuses. Our vision is for ‘excellence in all that we do’ and our latest CQC report shows we still have work to do to improve. Despite all the challenges we face, people will always be treated with empathy and the utmost care and kindness here at STSFT. We thank our amazing staff for that. Given the pressure they continue to work under, it is testament to them that this care and compassion still shines through every day.”

The latest CQC ratings for STSFT mean that 70% of all the services provided by the Trust remain rated ‘good’ (60%) or ‘outstanding (10%), with improvements ongoing in all other areas.