Hospitals shake-up over poor standards of care

Eleven NHS trusts including the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have been placed into “special measures” over “fundamental breaches of care” following the investigation ordered by Ministers in the wake of the landmark report into the scandal-hit Mid Staffordshire NHS trust.

Staff and bed shortages, management inaction and even failings in equipment triggering the immediate shutdown of two 
operating theatres were uncovered in the review of 14 organisations.

All have been ordered to make urgent changes as NHS medical director Sir Bruce Keogh, who led the inquiry, admitted he did not know if there were similar problems at other hospitals.

The report is likely to lead to significant investment in extra nurses and doctors at hospitals across the country and add to pressure to enhance night-time and weekend cover – but it comes as hospitals are bearing the brunt of the NHS £20bn efficiency drive which has focused on slashing staff costs.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told MPs thousands more patients may have died than expected at the 14 trusts since 2005 as Prime Minister David Cameron accused Labour of a “cover-up” over failings during its time in office – although the report focused on high death rates in 2011 and 2012.

The review said experts carrying out inspections were at times forced to step in to stop patients being harmed. They also witnessed a “lack of compassion” among busy staff.

Sir Bruce said: “This is a very difficult day for the NHS because we are laying bare some truths.

“On the other hand I think the transparency with which these reviews have been conducted, I hope will be a turning point for the NHS.

“We had to take immediate action in a number of areas; there were issues with unsafe shift patterns, we had to close two operating theatres because the ultra-clean air conditioning wasn’t working and in one place we found a large backlog of complaints that simply weren’t being dealt with.”

At the East Lancashire NHS Trust, the review found a high number of stillborn babies in March this year – but managers had failed to investigate.

Sir Bruce said none of the trusts investigated was as bad as Stafford Hospital, but there were elements of poor care and inadequate organisation which echoed problems there.

When asked how typical the problems are across the hospital sector, he said: “I genuinely don’t know.”

Mr Hunt said external experts were being sent into the 11 trusts which will be inspected again within the next 12 months. Leadership at each will also be assessed, raising the prospect of some managers being fired.

At the Northern Lincolnshire trust, which runs hospitals in Grimsby, Scunthorpe and Goole, the review found ambulance staff caring for patients in A&E at Grimsby, poor out-of-hours stroke services in Grimsby, inadequate numbers of both doctors and nurses in some areas, breaches of national standards for mixed sex wards and accusations from patients of a lack of basic care.

It uncovered evidence board executives were still failing to acknowledge problems, finding an “emphasis on finance and targets” meant some staff did not believe quality was the priority.

Trust chief executive Karen Jackson apologised for shortcomings in care. She said the majority of recommendations made by the review were already being implemented.

“However, we need to make more progress, faster,” she added.