Heatherwood and Wexham Park NHS Foundation Trust put in special measures
1 May 2014 03:17 PM
Monitor has put
Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust into special
measures after the Care Quality Commission found that care at the trust was
inadequate and the trust was not well-led
The trust will now be required
to implement urgently a series of actions to strengthen how it is led and
prevent further poor care. The trust will produce an action plan and publish it
on the NHS Choices website to enable patients to hold trust management to
account.
The health regulator has
arranged for the high-performing Frimley Park NHS Foundation Trust to partner
with Heatherwood and Wexham Park to provide practical, tailored support as the
trust is turned around.
Prior to today's
announcement, Monitor had already secured additional support for the
trust, including appointing Mark Davies, an experienced former NHS Chief
Executive, as Improvement Director charged with holding the trust to account
for delivering the required improvements.
The inspection by the Care
Quality Commission’s (CQC) Chief Inspector of Hospitals found the trust
needs to improve in 18 areas, including patient care and nurse staffing levels.
The CQC report also raised serious concerns about bullying, harassment, and
clinicians appearing to work against each other rather than together to improve
standards of care.
Monitor is also concerned that
previous attempts by the trust to tackle its problems had not
worked.
Monitor believes a takeover by
Frimley Park would be the ideal long-term solution for Heatherwood and Wexham
Park.
Mark Turner, Regional Director
at Monitor, said: "The patients of Heatherwood and Wexham Park expect to
receive high quality care, so we are disappointed by the shortcomings
highlighted by the CQC.
"We will now ensure the
trust takes the necessary steps to improve care. Key to achieving long-lasting
improvement will be developing a culture in the trust in which all staff pull
in the same direction, so patients and staff see a real
difference.
"Patients deserve better,
and performance to date has simply not been good enough. They want good quality
care provided by their local hospital. The best way for this to happen is a
takeover by Frimley Park, and we’re working hard to help make this
happen."
ENDS
Notes to
editors
- For media enquiries, contact
Nick Burke in the Monitor Press Office on 0203 747 0800 (press.office@monitor.gov.uk)
- Monitor has been taking
regulatory action against the trust since June 2009 over a variety of
issues.
- There have been a significant
number of recent management level changes at the trust, including the
appointment of a interim Chief Executive and a new Finance
Director.
- Monitor is the sector regulator
of NHS-funded health care services and its main duty is to protect and promote
the interests of patients.
- More information about
Monitor's role can be found here
- Follow us on Twitter - @MonitorUpdate