University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust put into special measures
26 Jun 2014 03:37 PM
Monitor has put the
struggling NHS foundation trust into special measures due to concerns about the
quality of care it provides.
The decision follows a recent
comprehensive inspection by the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) Chief
Inspector of Hospitals which identified that progress had been made in dealing
with a number of concerns, but that the quality of care was still
inadequate.
The CQC inspection
found University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust needs to
increase staffing levels across the organisation and improve the way it is
run.
Monitor has therefore taken
further regulatory action, which will see the trust develop and deliver a plan
to improve the way the trust is managed.
Morecambe Bay has been
in breach of its licence to provide healthcare services since
October 2011 and Monitor has taken a number of steps to secure improvements in
A&E and maternity services which has been recognised by CQC’s
inspection team.
Level of care and the quality of
senior leadership “not good enough”
As part of special measures
Monitor will appoint an Improvement Director, whose role will be to provide
support and expertise but also to hold the trust to account.
Monitor will take further
regulatory action if improvements are not made.
Adam Cayley, Regional Director
at Monitor, said:
The trust has co-operated with
Monitor in making some improvements in recent years, but the Chief Inspector of
Hospitals has reported on wider failings in care that must be
addressed.
The level of care and the
quality of senior leadership at this trust has not been good enough,
that’s why we’ve put Morecambe Bay into special
measures.
The pressure is on to turn
things around for its patients, but the trust will receive extra support and
guidance as it starts to address the many issues it faces.