20.10.15
Special measures trust from Keogh review needs partner and leadership shake-up
Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS FT, which has already been in special measures for two years, needs a close long-term partner to help it deliver lasting improvements, Monitor and the CQC have said today (20 October).
After being once again rated inadequate in a recent CQC inspection, the trust is also undergoing a major shake-up of its current leadership team.
Monitor has appointed several new interim leaders, including Peter Reading, a former NHS chief executive most recently involved at Peterborough & Stamford Hospitals NHS FT. Reading will support and advise the executive team at the trust.
The regulator has also made Suzanne Banks interim director of nursing, building on her experience at senior levels within nursing such as in the Mid Staffordshire NHS FT.
Eric Morton will take over as the new improvement director given that he has helped several trusts exit special measures.
And the current improvement director at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS FT, Fiona Wise, was appointed to drive a package of improvements to Sherwood’s maternity unit.
Other appointments will shortly be announced, including the trust’s new CEO.
Monitor’s regional director, Frances Shattock, said: “The findings of this inspection are deeply disappointing. Local people expect a much better service from their hospitals. We’ve agreed with the CQC that the trust will need more than a sticking plaster. It will need to join in a long-term partnership with another trust if it is to deliver the change that is desperately needed.
“In the meantime, we’ve made a number of interim appointments, which we will be adding to in the coming weeks, to provide the trust with some of the best support the NHS can offer as it makes the urgent change needed to deliver the quality of care we all want to see.”
The Nottinghamshire trust was placed into special measures two years go by Sir Bruce Keogh as part of his review into the death rates of 14 trusts.
An inspection was then carried out in April 2014, after which CQC recommended it remained in special measures.
And, after another inspection in June of this year, Sir Mike Richards, chief inspector of hospitals, said: “We found a number of serious problems when we inspected the services run by Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS FT. Rather than getting better, our latest inspection shows a noticeable decline in ratings.
“The trust’s special measures action plan had 18 high level action points to be completed by March 2015. Only of these areas had been completed by the June inspection, although there has been some progress in other areas.
“The trust has now been rated inadequate for safety, effectiveness 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.”
And even the trust’s mortality rates, which helped motivate Keogh’s review two years ago, were still above expected limits despite being one of the top three objectives for improvement.
Richards is writing to the health secretary to outline his concerns given that the trust has been in special measures for more than 18 months.
Responding to the most recent findings, the trust’s acting chief executive, Karen Fisher, said she was extremely disappointed and sorry that they had let patients down.
“We have made a new start and we are working hard to make the necessary improvements. We welcome the additional intensive support Monitor, the national regulator, is putting in place to help us on our improvement journey,” she continued.
(Top image c. thornypup/Flickr)