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Monitor has stepped in to ensure Heatherwood and Wexham Park NHS Foundation Trust draws up a recovery plan to deal with poor care and shortfalls in A&E.

The health regulator has taken action following a warning notice from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) that the trust breached essential standards.

The trust is giving Monitor binding undertakings to put right the concerns raised by the CQC within three months.  In addition, it has agreed to review its oversight of clinical quality, strengthen its ward management, and ensure it has adequate capacity (both beds and staff) to meet future demand for both emergency and elective care.

The trust has been in special measures for the last four years, originally because of failure to meet national A&E targets and subsequent financial problems. Despite some early improvement, it missed the target during the last winter. The trust also had external support to review performance, and was given a clean bill of health by previous CQC inspections.

However, Monitor issued an enforcement notice in April 2013 demanding urgent improvements in finance and governance; and in view of the seriousness of this CQC warning notice Monitor will now increase its scrutiny to ensure the recovery plan is implemented.

Mark Turner, Regional Director at Monitor, said:

“We want Heatherwood and Wexham Park to fix its problems quickly and effectively, so that patients can receive the quality care they deserve.

“We recognise that the trust has been under pressure because of unprecedented demand this winter, but it must now put together a credible recovery plan to put right weaknesses in care, governance and staff management.

“We’ve taken this action to protect and promote patients' interests and will consider further action if these problems are not fixed satisfactorily.”

Notes to editors

• For media enquiries please contact Nick Burke on 020 7340 2434 or (nicholas.burke@monitor.gov.uk).
• Monitor is the sector regulator of NHS-funded health care services. Under the Health and Social Care 2012 Act its main duty is to protect and promote the interests of patients.
• Information about Monitor's role can be found here.
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