WIREDGOV

Katherine Murphy, Chief Executive of The Patients Association, said: “We welcome the CQC’s report into the state of acute hospitals as it provides a clear and informative baseline into hospital performance in the NHS.

“We are pleased to see that many trusts have delivered transformational change that improves care for patients, even in difficult financial times. We encourage trusts to share experiences and in particular, good practice, across the NHS so that everyone can learn and improve together.

“The Patients Association recognises the hard work and dedication given by the thousands of NHS staff that work day and night to deliver the highest quality of care possible. This includes all the support staff that help doctors and nurses to do their jobs effectively.

“Unfortunately, however, the report shows that most hospitals that have not delivered care to the expected standard and that there are patient safety ‘blind spots’. Disappointingly the CQC highlighted basic issues around patient safety such as hospitals not having effective systems in place to reduce hospital acquired infections. The Patients Association recently launched a report called ‘Time to Act’ which outlined measures that hospitals and health care professionals could take to reduce the risk of hospital acquired infections. We would urge Trusts to take note of our findings to mitigate these issues and improve the patient care.

‘Moreover, activity within hospitals has increased year-on-year and bed occupancy rates for general and acute settings were consistently above the recommended maximum of 85% for rated acute trusts. Likewise, emergency admissions and outpatient appointments have risen at a faster rate in the year to September 2016 than in the previous year, which reflect changes in patient needs and expectations. We are also particularly concerned about the growing number of people waiting more than 18 weeks for hospital treatment, which we have previously raised as a concern in our 2016 waiting times report ‘Feeling the wait’.

‘Furthermore, the programme of inspection ended in autumn 2016, before the winter pressures kicked in. So, whilst the report acknowledges that things have got more challenging since, the reality of the matter is that the statistics in this report understate the challenges the NHS faces today.

‘Unfortunately, as evidenced in this report the NHS has not been able to adapt and cope with this increased demand on services and as such is buckling under the pressure.  It is clear that these findings are alarming. We believe that what is required is a combination of clear, strong and innovative leadership within each hospital and an honest conversation with patients and the public about what the NHS is able to deliver in the face of growing pressures on our NHS.’

Notes to editor

The full report can be found on the CQC website here: http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/state-care-nhs-acute-hospitals