09.09.15
Keogh review FT to exit special measures after two years
Tameside Hospital NHS FT, one of the 14 trusts investigated in Sir Bruce Keogh’s 2013 review of high mortality rates, will exit special measures after two years following a fresh CQC inspection whose results were published yesterday.
The trust, a major provider of hospital services in Tameside and Glossop, near Manchester, was included in the Keogh Mortality Review after being identified nationally as having high death rates.
But the CQC has now recommended to Monitor that the FT exits special measures, in which it was placed along with 10 other trusts included in the Keogh investigation after concerns about the care of emergency patients.
A trust spokesman said in response to the investigation: “We are pleased that the CQC have recommended to our regulator, Monitor, that the trust should be removed from special measures. We believe that this will continue to give confidence to our patients and the local community that Tameside Hospital is an organisation they can trust.
“We are also delighted for our staff, who together, have worked tremendously hard over the last two years to make our hospital a place we can all be proud of.”
The watchdog found that Tameside had made “significant progress” in all areas, with particular improvement in critical care services, whose rating has now shifted from ‘inadequate’ to ‘good’.
It has also made “excellent progress” in dealing with governance and complaints by improving their response to issues in a more sustainable way.
A strong ‘patients and safety first’ culture had developed, along with a robust leadership from the trust’s executive and senior management team.
However, a number of issues remained regarding medication checks, safeguarding and responsiveness where additional progress should be made – yet the CQC was assured that it is “already in the trust’s grasp” through the systems in place.
Overall the investigation report recommended that the trust must: ensure medical staffing is sufficient and appropriate; improve patient flow throughout the hospital; improve the completion of mandatory training; and ensure medicines are checked and disposed of correctly.
The trust spokesman said: “We acknowledge that whilst excellent progress has been made, we must now use this as a platform to continue to improve, enhance and develop all of the services we offer to our patients.”
Tameside FT had appointed a new chief executive in the wake of the Keogh review in 2013. At the time, it was the only trust in the review whose mortality rates had continued to worsen after being placed in special measures.
At the time, the trust said: “Initially, we focused our attention on understanding and improving the care and treatment given to our patients. We now have a fully embedded mortality review process, where all deaths are comprehensively reviewed. We are now clearer on the data quality issues which require further action.”