16.08.18
Plymouth trust slapped with two warning notices after damning CQC review
The CQC has called for immediate improvements at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust as the healthcare inspectorate issued two warning notices to the provider, which runs Derriford Hospital.
The trust, which remains rated at ‘requires improvement’ overall, must now take “urgent action” to improve the management of medicines within its pharmacy services and ensure significant improvements in the diagnostic services.
Prof Ted Baker, chief inspector of hospitals at the CQC, said it was disappointing to report that the trust has been “unable to sustain the momentum” since their latest inspection in order to embed the improvements that had been previously observed.
“We have now made it clear to the trust where it must take action to improve and have issued two warning notices to ensure these improvements do take place,” he explained. “We will continue to monitor those services and we will return in the near future to check progress.”
Plymouth’s chief executive, Ann James, said she was hoping the trust would receive £25m from the government to expand Derriford’s A&E and medical assessment units so that it can cope with patient demand. According to the CQC, increasing demand is currently outweighing the provider’s available beds, and patients are often staying in hospital longer than needed.
James added: “Clearly it is disappointing to receive two warning notices.
“In line with our open and transparent approach, we alerted the CQC inspectors to problems we had identified in pharmacy prior to their inspection and told them what we were doing to address these. We are on an improvement journey and our focus remains on continuing to make advancements in the areas highlighted.”
Despite the negative findings, Derriford’s staff were praised for their ‘outstanding’ care.
Conservative MP for Moor View in Plymouth, Johnny Mercer, has demanded an “urgent meeting” with the health secretary following the 66-page report.
Mercer said: “I am acutely aware that we are at a seminal moment in healthcare in this country; the demand is simply breaking the system.”
The A&E department is the largest in the south west, with more than 48,000 people passing through Derriford each week, and the trust acknowledges it is too small to safely accommodate the growing patient demand.
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